Planning and sustainable development in the twenty-first century

Abstract

The use of formal planning approaches fell into disrepute in the 1980s and few guidelines exist in economics textbooks on how to plan for the systemic and profound transformations that societies need to achieve. This article questions the utility, form and method of collective planning for sustainable development. While sustainable development planning is close to past planning experiences in some respects, it is unprecedented in others. I elaborate on one particular approach to planning, which focuses on fostering collective deliberations and bargaining about alternative sustainable development strategies. Two applications confront this theoretical and methodological reflexion to concrete twenty-first century challenges: The design of national strategies to address climate change and carbon pricing policies.