Top-down or bottom-up? A critical analysis of developmental planning in Latin America

Abstract

This article explores the transformations in developmental planning policies throughout the 20^th century ―with a special focus on the changes occurred within the discipline known as “developmental planning”―. To be more precise, changes in the approaches within this field of study will be examined ―including “top-down” and “bottom-up” perspectives―. To that end, I will review the defining features of approaches such as “balanced growth”, “unbalanced growth” and the “theory of growth poles”. Likewise, I will deal with the main tenets of the theory of local economic development, its strengths and weaknesses, where I will pay special attention to the Latin American experience. Finally, this article will ponder over the necessity to construct new conceptual frameworks that help to transcend controversies and to learn from past experiences.