ABSTRACT
Every modern form of economic system combines some measure of public planning with some latitude for private decision-making. The task of harmonizing public and private decision-making confronts every modern economic system. The less developed countries of Latin America, Asia, and Africa are in the process of working out reconciliations of public and private decision-making which are relevant to the character of their economies, consistent with their social values, and more or less effective in achieving their chosen goals. In order to clarify the interplay between public planning and private decision-making, the actors or participants have to be defined. Private planning plays a most important role in ensuring that the private sector will make the fullest possible contribution to achieving the goals of the national development effort. A successful economic and social development plan depends on the ability to work out a constructive relationship between government planning and private decision-making with respect to strategic investments.
