A Comparative Study of Development in Relation to National Development Planning

National Development Planning (NDP) refers to the deliberate effort of countries to guide their economies, social policies and public administrations towards development through the drafting and implementation of national development plans. Despite its extensive use around the world, particularly in Global South countries, there is a lack of quantitative studies analyzing the development factors associated with its use. Taking human development as a theoretical lens, we explore the differences between countries using and not using NDP. Our analysis of panel data from 43 OECD countries (OECD, 2024), as well as our logistic regression modelling of 189 countries, revealed varied approaches to NDP as well as differences in development factors between countries that do and do not use it. Our analysis revealed variations in economic growth, development levels, and government effectiveness associated with the use of the NDP. This article contributes to the ongoing debate about the resurgence of NDP as a strategic tool for guiding national development policies, while also highlighting their relevance in international development discourse and social science scholarship.