ABSTRACT
The objective of this chapter is to appreciate the national diversity of public sector contexts with different experiences of planning systems. The United States was portrayed as committed to a laissez-faire approach to the economy, which meant that the private sector and market forces were seen as the locus of economic decision-making. In contrast to the laissez-faire model of the US, the Federal Law sets the legal base for strategic planning in the Russian Federation, for the coordination of state and municipal strategic management and budget policy. A system of Five-Year Plans has been central to the process of public governance in China for more than fifty years. The brief survey of developments in the US, Russia, China and Europe, which of course between them account for a very large share of global population and global economic activity, indicates that they have all been attempting to improve government effectiveness through reforms and innovations involving strategic planning.
