Decentralised planning
Topic: Comparative Development: India, China and Pakistan · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 8 "Comparative Development Experiences of India and its Neighbours"
Meaning
Decentralised planning means that decisions, and the work of carrying them out, are handed down to regional and local levels instead of being made only by the central government. China had a long history of this before 1978. It then used the same approach for its reforms. Each new measure was first tried locally on a small scale, and its economic, social and political costs were checked. Only then was it extended nationwide. Deng Xiaoping called this "crossing the river by feeling the stones". It kept costly mistakes small and made them easy to reverse.
Example
China did not open its whole economy to foreign investors at once. In 1980 it first set up Special Economic Zones in four cities: Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou and Xiamen. It watched the results and added Hainan in 1988.
Don't confuse with
- Centralised (Soviet-style) planning: Here the central government decides almost everything, as in China's First Five Year Plan (1953). Under decentralised planning, local levels decide and test.
Related concepts
- Chinese economic reforms of 1978
- Household allocation of commune land
- Township and village enterprises
- Dual pricing