Much has been written about the new space economy. However, until recently the literature remained fragmented across a wide range of academic papers, policy reports, and technical journals and has not adequately raised political economy questions that examine the dynamics of space economy growth and its implications on equity. This “perspective” offers a political economy research agenda by raising questions on the nature of the new space economy and the implications on equity arising from space-related economic activities.
World Economic Forum. Space: The $1.8 trillion opportunity for global economic growth. Insight report with McKinsey & Company. april 2024: 8-9. There are other similar bullish estimates that vary quite wildly and hence should be used with caution, OECD. In: The Space Economy in Figures: How Space Contributes to the Global Economy. OECD Publishing: Paris; 2019; p. 32; doi: 10.1787/c5996201-en
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D’CostaAP. Chapter 42: The new space economy and distributive implications on earth. The Oxford Handbook of the New Space Economy. Oxford University Press; 2025.
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United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. The “Space2030” agenda: Space as a driver of sustainable development. United Nations: Vienna; 2024.
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OECD. OECD Handbook on Measuring the Space Economy, 2nd Ed.. OECD Publishing: Paris; 2022; p. 32; doi: 10.1787/8bfef437-en
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OECD. The Economics of Space Sustainability: Delivering Economic Evidence to Guide Government Action. OECD Publishing, Paris; 2024; pp. 30–31; doi: 10.1787/b2257346-en
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DonaldsonD, StoreygardA. The view from above: Applications of satellite data in economics. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2016; 30(4):171–198; doi: 10.1257/jep.30.4.171
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EngstromR, HershJ, NewhouseD. Poverty from space: Using high resolution satellite imagery for estimating economic well-being. The World Bank Economic Review, 2022; 36(2):382–412; doi: 10.1093/wber/lhab015
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KimaniMW, HoedjesJCB, SuZ. An assessment of satellite-derived rainfall products relative to ground observations over East Africa. Remote Sens (Basel), 2017; 9(5):430; doi: 10.3390/rs9050430
