Institutions: Proposals for Change

Abstract

Continuing the discussion of institutions, this chapter makes some concrete proposals for new institutional forms intended to facilitate the successful operation of a planning system in Britain. The consideration of particular types of institution is preceded by some elucidation of the principles and problems of the planning system that call for such an institutional solution. The first section investigates national level institutions, with the emphasis on the investment process. This emphasis is justified partly by earlier arguments about the role of investment in promoting growth and restoring full employment in Britain, and partly by my view that an important aspect of planning is its role in socialising the investment process. Section 7.2 briefly reviews a variety of lower-level institutions that may be introduced, developing out of the earlier Sections 4.4 and 5.2. Finally, Section 7.3 reviews a major field of contention in British economic policy-making, namely the regulation of prices and wages. In the past, inflation has been sustained by social conflicts about distribution, especially the profit-wage distribution. These conflicts have been suppressed either by prices and incomes policies in various forms, or more recently by the creation of exceptionally high levels of unemployment.