Validity of Planning: the case of Argentina

Abstract

This paper elaborates a reflection on the validity of the concept of planning as an instrument of public policies to guide a process of sustained and equitable development. For this purpose, we reflect on the uses of this term, in order to specify a sense in which it is appropriate to the mentioned purpose. The analysis focuses on what we call economic development planning - typical of the postwar period of the second World War - and the proposals that have emerged from the criticisms that were made of the experiences that it founded. We propose that the formulation of a plan may be considered a valid option, for economies that, like argentina, face constraints that have plunged it into secular stagnation. This plan should not be understood as a rigid development, but rather as an exercise in consistency, a frame of reference for daily economic and social policy decisions, and also as the embodiment of a country project.