From Urbanite to Astronaut: The Territorial Economics of Space

Dates: Tuesday, May 10, 2022 - 18:00 to 19:00
Location: Berril Lecture Theatre,Walton Hall, Open University, MK6 7AA

In his inaugural lecture, Professor Leslie Budd will explore the recent increase in public interest in space exploration and the future of using urban and regional economics for assessing its impact.

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Abstract

The recent increase in public interest in space exploration has both supported and questioned the value of this important branch of scientific discovery and its societal applications. Examples include the NASA Mars Preservation Rover landing and in the last 20 years the European Space Agency (ESA) has contributed significant funding to the International Space Station (ISS), leveraging advances in space science whose multi-disciplinary impacts have led to the identification, evaluation and potential measurement of a wide range of socioeconomic benefits. Until recently, the contribution of these benefits to economy and society has tended to be overlooked.

It is estimated that the global space economy will grow form US$350bn in 2019 to over US$1 trillion in 2040. Consequently, space is becoming an increasingly important industrial sector whose development is a key component in industrial strategies that are based on the concept and practice of Industry 4.0. The European Union (EU) and ESA promulgated their own Space 4.0 in 2016 under whose rubric is the rise of space city-regions and localities in which space is a propulsive industry for a number of beneficial outcomes. This analytical framework creates the opportunity to investigate and analyse the increasing integration of the Earth and Space Economy.

These outcomes that can be identified, analysed, and evaluated by drawing upon urban and regional economics, in particular the generation of what is called activity-complex economies: an important type of agglomeration economy The arguments of this lecture are given context through exploring the International Space Station (ISS), the NASA/ESA Orion Lunar missions and UK-based spaceports.

In a period of intense societal challenges, the role of space exploration in creating socioeconomic benefits for all is often overlooked. What are the real benefits of the Earth and Space Economy and how can their impacts be evaluated and realised for all citizens? In my inaugural lecture, I will explore the recent increase in public interest in space exploration and its future drawing on urban and regional economics to investigate its value.

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About Professor Leslie Budd

Leslie Budd is Professor of Regional Economy in the Department of Public Leadership and Social Enterprise (PuLSE) at the Open University Business School. He is an economist who is internationally known for his work on regional and urban economics in the context of global issues, the digital economy, the socioeconomic impacts of BREXIT and evaluating the socioeconomic benefits of space exploration. He is currently Director of the Space Exploration and Analysis Research (SPEAR) cluster in the Faculty of Business and Law and Visiting Professor at the Centre for Brexit Studies, Birmingham City University.

Leslie has undertaken economic and financial analysis for a number of regional, national and international organisations. These include the Corporation of London, the Small Business Service, the Capital Market Authority in Riyadh; and the Iraq Ministry of Planning. Between 2014 and 2016 he was Special Economic Advisor to the Committee for Enterprise, Trade and Investment Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly, producing research and policy briefings, for example the consequences of devolved taxation and the impact of BREXIT on the Northern Ireland economy.