Programming as a form of state regulation of the economy

Programming is the most important form of state regulation of the economy and a type of planning. Its task is to ensure the solution of the most important problems of the development of the national economy, regional, intersectoral, sectoral, scientific and technical, social, environmental and other problems. It should ensure an integrated approach and a targeted allocation of resources to address the identified problem and achieve the goal.

Programs can be developed at any level of the management hierarchy, but in any case, the program is a targeted, planning document that can be of varying degrees of directive or indicative nature. The main content of the program is a clearly defined goal, objectives and a set of activities: research, organizational, economic, production and others, linked by resources, executors, deadlines for implementation and ensuring the achievement of the set goals. and tasks in the most efficient way.

Depending on the content, object and direction of the program, there are socio-economic, scientific and technical, industrial-economic, territorial, organizational and economic. They can also be national, regional, emergency and targeted.

National and regional programmes are integrated general economic programmes that reflect the preferred option for the socio-economic development of the country as a whole or its individual region.

Emergency programs are usually short-term and are developed in critical situations: in conditions of crisis, mass unemployment, dangerous inflation, etc. For their implementation, administrative regulation tools are widely used. Examples of emergency programs include the South Korean Economic Recovery Program, the Program for Structural Adjustment and Privatization of New Lands in Germany (after the GDR joined the Federal Republic of Germany).

In the Republic of Belarus, an example of an emergency program is the Program of Urgent Measures for the Exit of the Republic’s Economy from the Crisis (1994-1995).

The objects of targeted integrated programs (CCP) can be the most significant economic and social problems,  industries, spheres, various areas of scientific research and other problems that are very significant for the national economy. For targeted comprehensive programs at the state level are developed, first of all, as programs that are important for solving the problems of the development of the national economy.

Examples of targeted integrated programs in the Republic of Belarus are scientific and technical programs in the field of ecology, health, resource and energy saving, the creation of new technologies, materials, devices and equipment, the element base and the latest means of electronic computer technology and communications.

According to the period of operation of the program can be short-, medium- and long-term. The most common are medium-term programs, which are developed for a period of five years with an annual adjustment and an extension of one year (the so-called rolling programming).

It should be noted that all elements of state regulation of the economy are comprehensively used in programming. They form goals, determine the procedure and deadlines for their achievement, bodies and specific executors responsible for certain areas, allocate the necessary funds and establish the procedure for their financing, establish control over their implementation. The core of any program is the goal, around which a set of activities is grouped in essence, and constituting the content of the program.

State programming as an instrument of state regulation of the economy has found wide application in many countries: France, Japan, the Netherlands, the Scandinavian countries, South Korea, Germany, Austria, Spain, Finland, India, Turkey, and other countries. In these countries, it acts as the highest form of state regulation of the economy, provides a comprehensive use of all elements of state regulation to achieve this goal and, basically, is indicative, i.e. advisory and regulatory nature.

In the Republic of Belarus, which is part of the former USSR, in past years the use of programming as a tool for regulating economic and social development has largely discredited itself. This is explained by the unsystematic development and adoption of programs, an attempt to implement a large number of them without taking into account the resource potential of the national economy and the possibilities of achieving goals, the parallel development of directive plans that often contradict the goals of the programs, the lack of an effective mechanism for their implementation, and lack of control on the part of government bodies. As a result, many programs were not executed. For example, the “Food Program”, the “Housing” program, etc.

Within the framework of directive planning, the problem of interconnection and coordination of plans and programs remained unresolved, the questions were not answered: which of the two categories of “plan” or “program” is primary, whether the tasks of the plan follow from the generalization of programs, or vice versa?

Within the framework of market relations, programming as a form of regulation of the economy occupies a more definite place.

In our republic in accordance with the Law
“On State Forecasting and Programs of Socio-Economic Development of the Republic of Belarus” programming acts as the main form of state regulation of the economy and is implemented through the Program of Socio-Economic Development of the Republic of Belarus for the medium term (five years).

The program of socio-economic development of the Republic of Belarus is a comprehensive system of targets for the socio-economic development of the Republic of Belarus and effective ways and means planned by the state to achieve these guidelines.

Programming is also used to solve certain problems of state and interstate importance, and is implemented in target programs of the Republic of Belarus and interstate programs (for example, the Program for the Development of the Industrial Complex of the Republic of Belarus for 1998-2015, the Program for Improving the Efficiency of the Agro-Industrial Complex for 2000-2005, the National Export Development Program for 200-2005, the Program of Action of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation for the Implementation of the Provisions Treaty on the Creation of the Union State, etc.)

In addition, socio-economic development programs are being developed in administrative-territorial units. These programs are developed on the basis of the current socio-economic, demographic and environmental situation in the region and taking into account the target indicators of the socio-economic development of the republic. These programmes are developed by local executive and administrative bodies and submit their drafts to the Councils of Deputies for approval.

In 1997, in order to increase the importance and status of programs as a form of state regulation, the institute of presidential programs (“Housing”, “Household Appliances”, “Informatization”, “Children of Belarus”, etc.) was introduced in the republic  in order to increase the importance and status of programs as a form of state regulation.

Practice has shown that in modern conditions, programming has become the most important tool for solving strategic, large-scale, as well as tactical key problems of the socio-economic development of the country.