Rethinking Macroeconomic Planning in Europe
October 15, 2026 | 09:00 – 12:00 CET
Auditorium at the Jacob-und-Wilhelm-Grimm-Zentrum, Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 1–3, 10117 Berlin (Raum E’701)
Organized by the Network for Pluralist Economics in cooperation with the research project “Heterodox Planning” (Humboldt University/Einstein Foundation)
Europe stands at a critical macroeconomic crossroads. As the continent grapples with the compounding pressures of structural economic crisis, geopolitical fragmentation, and the urgent need for unprecedented socio-ecological investment, conventional market-driven paradigms are failing to provide viable answers.
As highlighted in the recent landscape report by Partners for a New Economy (P4NE), “Fertile Ground: Exploring Europe’s New Economy Ecosystem”, if we are to successfully navigate this era of interlocking crises, the field must elevate macroeconomic planning. No longer dismissed as a relic of the past, strategic public coordination and structural steering are re-emerging as essential tools to reshape the future of European capital, navigate fiscal rules, and steer the green transition. This event brings together leading voices in political economy to dissect how democratic, structural economic planning can be effectively revived and translated to viable policy solutions.
The Panel
Ilias Alami (Assistant Professor at the University of Cambridge, Member of the Green Planning Comission) – will illustrate how the global rise of state-owned enterprises and sovereign wealth funds expands the scope for progressive economic intervention, while questioning how we can push past these frameworks toward deeper systemic transformation.
Jacob Hasselbalch (Associate Professor at Copenhagen Business School) will compare historical and contemporary planning models—spanning France, Denmark, South Korea, and China—to show how states can deploy long-term macroeconomic steering, indicative planning, and strategic investment budgets to manage the green transition.
Hannah Bensussan (Political Economist and EU Economic Policy Expert; Advanced background in institutional economics) will analyze the current French institutional landscape, critique the successes and failures of its planning ministry, and explore how the macroeconomic proposals of La France Insoumise can be expanded for broader European policy.
Moderated by Maxine Fowé (Political Economist and journalist)
Agenda
- 09:00 – Welcome & Opening Remarks by the Network for Pluralist Economics
- 09:15 – Flash Talks on Macroeconomic Planning
- 10:15 – Open Q&A Session
- 11:30 – Networking & Refreshments (until 12:30)
After the MacroHub workshop: Age of Planning Conference
The exploration of macroeconomic planning continues in the rest of the day and on October 16 with the academic conference “Age of Planning”, which brings together empirical research on corporate and state planning in practice. More information will be sent after registration for the MacroHub.
