Thinkers & Ideas Space to Grow with Matthew Weinzierl and Brendan Rosseau
Mar 4, 2025
Matthew Weinzierl, a Harvard Business School professor specializing in the economics of space, teams up with Brendan Rosseau, Blue Origin's strategy manager. They delve into the evolving dynamics of the space economy, emphasizing the shift from government dominance to private market innovation. The conversation navigates crucial topics like space debris, asteroid mining potential, and the impact of geopolitics. They also highlight the growing interest among students in commercial space careers, sparking inspiration for the next generation of explorers.
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Markets Reshape The Space Age
- Market forces are transforming space after 25 years of government dominance and introduce new dynamism and innovation.
- Markets work under conditions, so policy must ensure those conditions to reap efficiency gains.
Use Policy To Fix Market Failures
- Refine markets where they fail: intervene on antitrust, debris, and other market failures.
- Temper markets when social objectives matter, using policy to shape distributional and non-efficiency outcomes.
Mixed Public-Private Model Wins
- The right model is a mixed public-private system where governments and markets play complementary roles.
- Governments still lead on public goods like national security and basic science while business leads where commercial value exists.
