Abstract: The lunar landing by ISRO under Chandrayaan 3 and the bringing back of a carbon-rich sample from Bennu, an asteroid that is 4.5 billion years old by NASA are recent examples of space projects undertaken by governments in search for scientific knowledge that also promises benefits for humanity. Less known are the subtle yet visible shifts taking place in the wider space sector with private business participation, thus giving rise to a “new” space economy (NSE). There is considerable research on the dynamics of different industries and sectors analyzing the technological, economic, business, institutional, and policy dimensions. How relevant are these for NSE? In this exploratory work, informed by the on-going editing of The Oxford Handbook on the “New” Space Economy with 47 chapters and nearly one hundred authors, I first address what is NSE, second, broadly identify and disaggregate some of the key forces behind NSE and its growing importance to the economy, and third provide a basic understanding of the anticipated social and economic development implications of the wider evolving space economy.
About the Speaker: Professor Anthony D’Costa is an Eminent Scholar in Global Studies and Professor of Economics at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and an Honorary Professor at University of Melbourne. He taught at the University of Melbourne, Copenhagen Business School, National University of Singapore, and the University of Washington. He has published twelve books, most recently with Achin Chakraborty Changing Contexts and Shifting Roles of the Indian State: New Perspectives on Development Dynamics (2019). Currently he is also working on an accessible book on Indian business and economic development.
For more info write to: Prof. Carol Upadhya carol.upadhya@nias.res.in