Planning and the Price Mechanism

Students approaching problems of regional growth face a bewildering array of ideas and arguments, concerning both theory and practice. To understand the sharp differences in the way regional growth is explained, and the equally clear divergence of policy prescriptions, it is necessary to be aware of the diverse intellectual traditions which are drawn upon. The author has attempted to explain briefly the main relevant strands of economic thought - from neo-classical ideas to supply-side thinking - and to show how these map into divergent schools of thought about regional growth processes. Economic doctrine in general, and regional growth theory in particular, has evolved in the context of major changes in the global economy, and especially the increasingly open nature of national economies. Ideas concerning the reasons for trade and for the sources of national growth have changed quite markedly in recent decades. The changing empirical reality and the evolution of theoretical ideas have both had an impact on the way that regional economic growth is perceived.
In structure this book is an extended essay, setting out a viewpoint and an argument, providing an approximate map of a large and complex terrain.