Planning in a Mixed Economy

A mixed economy is essentially a planned economy. The public sector will have to be operated according to certain priorities so as to achieve the specified social and economic goals. At the same time, the State will direct and control the private sector so as to secure better distribution of ownership and control of material resources. The planning process in a mixed economy is complex because of divergent and often confliction set of motivations. The conflicting motivations are those of self interest on the one hand and social gain on the other. The purpose of economic planning in a mixed economy is to reconcile the confecting interests so that they sub serve the national interest.

The success of planning in a mixed economy depends upon the following factors :

(i)  The extent to which the public sector is able to pursue the social goals.

(ii) The extent to which the State is able to guide the private sector to follow these goals.

(iii) The extent to which the State is able to check distortions in investment decisions arising out of private sector interests going against the public sector.