planned economy

American  

noun

1. an economic system in which the government controls and regulates production, distribution, prices, etc.

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planned economy British  

noun

1. another name for command economy

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planned economy Cultural  

1. A type of economy in which some central authority makes a wide range of decisions pertaining to production and wages.

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The former Soviet Union and other communist nations are examples of planned economies.

Etymology

Origin of planned economy

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

He justified this view by citing a dysfunctional banking system, a highly unstable currency, the absence of the rule of law guaranteeing private property, the failure of the centrally planned economy, and "completely dilapidated" infrastructure.

From Barron's • Mar. 21, 2026

The economist Friedrich Hayek maintained that a centrally planned economy could not work because the number of relevant and changing facts that the planners would need to know and understand is simply too large.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2025

China came out of its Maoist planned economy in the 1980s as a largely rural society, badly in need of factories and infrastructure.

From Reuters • Sep. 3, 2023

The return of these jobless young people to cities after the Cultural Revolution, in part, forced the party to embrace self-employment, or jobs outside the state planned economy.

From New York Times • May 30, 2023

When the Soviet Union collapsed, the subsidies ended, and North Korea’s centrally planned economy stopped functioning.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden