To Plan or Not to Plan, That is the Question: Transaction Cost Theory and its Implications for Planning

Alexander, E R

To Plan or Not to Plan, That is the Question: Transaction Cost Theory and its Implications for Planning

E R Alexander
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E R Alexander: Department of Urban Planning, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, PO Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA

Environment and Planning B, 1994, vol. 21, issue 3, 341-352

Abstract: Planning has been associated with public intervention, in contrast with the â€œfreeâ€ market. The transaction cost theory of planning bridges this dichotomy, suggesting instead the link between planning and hierarchical organizations and networks in the public and private sectors alike. The implications of this theory are that: (1) the scope and limits of planning are not based on the rationales for public intervention, but depend on the need for more hierarchical or more market-like forms of organization; (2) planning as coordination demands coordinative planning as well as traditional strategic planning, culminating in institutional design; (3) these forms of planning are associated in varying degrees with different types of organizations, characterized by size, complexity, and degree of hierarchy; (4) with growing societal complexity and interdependence, the demand for coordinative planning and institutional design will rise. Planning practice will have to incorporate coordinative planning and institutional design, and planning education needs to equip planners for these types of practice.

Date: 1994
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:envirb:v:21:y:1994:i:3:p:341-352

DOI: 10.1068/b210341

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