Should Space Be Privatized? With William Megginson In this episode of ’Questions in Finance,’ Kate and Veljko explore the space economy with Bill Megginson, Professor and Price Chair in Finance at the University of Oklahoma. They discuss the history, financing, and future prospects of space exploration, focusing on the pivotal roles played by private enterprises like SpaceX and government entities such as NASA. The conversation highlights the dramatic reduction in launch costs, the rise of satellite technology, and the competition between the US and China. They delve into the financing challenges of space ventures, the impact of venture capital, and the broader economic implications, touching on topics from military applications to the pursuit of knowledge and technological spinoffs. The episode concludes with insights into the future roles of commercial and government sectors in space activities. Timeline: 00:00 16 Psyche and Quadrillions of Dollars 07:44 Spaceflight Economics 10:19 Today’s Guest, Bill Megginson 11:03 Should the Spaceflight Economy be Privatized? 15:02 Dogs. And Cats. 16:17 Basics and Stats of the Space Economy 21:23 A Bit of History 27:17 Costs and Benefits 35:06 Private-sector Efficiency, SpaceX 45:08 From the Outer Space Treaty to Artemis 49:13 The Race to Mars 53:58 Space Force! 59:44 Venture Capital in Space 01:10:55 Space Mining, Technology Transfer 01:19:16 Space Jobs 01:34:00 The Geopolitics of Space 01:41:26 Summarizing Bibliography: Megginson, William L. ”The Financial Economics of Spaceflight.” Available at SSRN 4901992 (2024). Weinzierl, Matthew. ”Space, the final economic frontier.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 32, no. 2 (2018): 173-192. Other Sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis data on the Space Economy: https://www.bea.gov/data/special-topics/space-economy Soundtrack: The soundtrack is based on ”Walk on a Funky Street” by MondayHopes. Thanks for the music and keep up the good work! Use is under the Pixabay Content License.