There are no empirical studies on the relationship between planning and economic growth. Country growth diagnostics focus on the substance of economic policy. They rarely discuss the policymaking process, let alone the timeframe over which economies are planned, as a factor in determining the success or failure of economic reforms. Botswana, Ireland and South Korea are among the few exceptions to this rule, where the importance of long-term planning is considered to be one factor among others that contributed to sound economic policymaking, and ultimately to growth. The broader picture is less clear: some countries have had periods of planning which did not result in growth (Bangladesh, China); others (Uganda) have grown without long-term planning. There don’t appear to be any case studies which explicitly cite poor/lack of planning as an inhibitor to economic growth.
Long–term planning takes up significant time, resources, and investment in institutional structures and relationships. The literature emphasises the importance of consultation, public ownership and the development of a social contract as a way to give plans a longer life cycle than the duration of a term in office or a particular leader or party. Other factors which are often noted as important in long-term economic planning include: the use of technically competent technocrats; macroeconomic stability; and flexibility.
