Planning Procedures in Pakistan

Abstract

Because economic plans are made by ministers, civil servants,
and engineers, as well as by economists, it would be arrogant to expect
planning procedures to conform strictly to the rules of economic
analysis. Nevertheless, as professional men, we would like to know how
much use is made of the economist's techniques and, where none are used,
to consider what techniques could be recommended to the planners. A
paper concerning this problem was recently prepared in the Institute of
Development Economics by Professors Fei and Ranis1. The first part of
this paper is a comment on their work. The accumulation of knowledge
requires criticism, but it also requires fresh hypotheses. In the second
part, I have outlined the Pakistan Planning Commission's planning
procedure as I have been able to infer it from Commission documents and
conversations with individuals who participated in the preparation of
the Second Plan. This report is preliminary, because I have not studied
all the documents that could be made available, nor have I gone deeply
into details of the procedure. My reasons for publishing such an
analysis at this time are to draw attention to certain procedural
problems whose treatment has important effects on the end result of the
planning process and to offer my encouragement to anyone who would
'undertake the further study which this planning experience deserves