"As planning is everything, it is good for something!" A Coasian economic taxonomy of modes of planning. (August 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lai, Lawrence WC
• Is Part Of: Planning theory. Volume 15:Number 3(2016)
• Page Start: 255
• Page End: 273
• Publication Date: 2016-08
• Subjects: Coase Theorem -- planning by contract -- planning by edict -- private planning -- transaction cost; Planning -- Periodicals; City planning -- Periodicals; Planification -- Périodiques; Urbanisme -- Périodiques; 307.12
• DOI: 10.1177/1473095214542632
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1473-0952

Abstract

Against two extreme forms of thinking, which have influenced planning theory, this article argues, in the context of a looming amount of literature generated in a movement for private planning, that the distinction between private planning and public planning is a valid one, but one in need of tweaking. However, the plan–market dichotomy (i.e. the assumption that state and private planning is mutually exclusive) is fallacious. Informed by the neo-institutional economic assumption of rational decisions and the stance of contractual solutions, it rides on the surge in private planning by proposing a taxonomy of planning that combines two modes of planning with two types of planning agent and discusses their possible interrelationships using some neo-institutional economic reasoning informed by the ideas of Coase. Some pedagogical and theoretical implications are also discussed.