New Publication - The Economics of Space Sustainability

Monday, June 04, 2012

Economics plays an important role in space sustainability and is often a missing or misunderstood part of the discussion.  SWF Technical Advisor Brian Weeden has published a new article in The Space Review that examines space sustainability, including space debris, from an economics perspective.  Mr. Weeden discusses the difference between public, private, and common goods and the traditional perspective of space debris as pollution that can be dealt with through microeconomic incentive mechanisms such as taxes or cap-and-trade schemes.  Mr. Weeden explains why these generalizations and conclusions are not likely to provide a useful solution of space debris, especially for space debris in low Earth orbit.

As an alternative, Mr. Weeden outlines the application of more recent developments in economics, including information and game theory, and their link to current initiatives such as the code of conduct and SSA Sharing.  Finally, Mr. Weeden discuses ongoing SWF research into the application of sustainable governance of common-pool resources to space and what lessons it may have for the long-term sustainable use of space.

Link to the article:  http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2093/1