DEVELOPMENT PLANNING IN ASEAN : POST-1970 EXPERIENCE

Abstract

ASEAN comprises the nations of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. In these economies, economic planning is accepted as an instrument for effecting development. In Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thai land, the practice of development planning is most evident in the promulgation of medium-term national economic plans, while in Singapore, though such plans are not formulated, the planning ideology is very much subscribed to. The focus of this exercise is to review the state of development planning in the ASEAN economies. Chapter One gives an overview of the economic framework of the ASEAN economies. In Chapter Two, the subject of development planning and the nature of planning in the ASEAN economies is introduced. Chapter Three is devoted to the review of the experience in plan implementation. Here, the ability of development planning in achieving its stated objectives is examined. The finding is that in terms of meeting plan targets, the performance of development planning has been an uneven one as the economies continued with the implementation of their development plans. Chapter Four closes the review by touching on some of the problems of development planning in the ASEAN economies.