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Regulating Space-Based Commerce

Insights from Economics and International Economic Law

Regulating Space-Based Commerce cover

Regulating Space-Based Commerce

Insights from Economics and International Economic Law

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Pre-order. Available 01 Oct 2026
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Description

As private actors increasingly enter the space sector, longstanding questions about the regulation of outer space take on new urgency.

Is the existing international legal framework sufficient to govern this shift, or will national laws and state-supported commercial initiatives create regulatory fragmentation? What responsibilities do states and private entities share in this evolving domain? Can trade, investment, and tax laws developed for earthbound commerce be extended to space-based activities?

Regulating Space-Based Commerce brings together leading voices from both legal and economic disciplines to explore these pressing questions. Moving beyond traditional space law, the book offers a fresh, external perspective that recognises the growing relevance of non-space-specific frameworks-such as trade, taxation, and investment-in regulating commercial activity beyond Earth.

The book is structured around three central themes: space resource management, the governance of space as a global commons, and the legal and regulatory challenges posed by security and private enterprise. The book provides a multi-angled platform, allowing readers to engage with each issue from several expert viewpoints.

With contributions from both established and emerging scholars, the book provides a timely, thought-provoking entry point into the interdisciplinary challenges shaping the future of space governance. It is an essential resource for anyone interested in the legal and economic architecture of space-based commerce.

Table of Contents

1. Preface: Economics and Law of Space-based Commerce. A Personal Perspective, Jean-Claude Worms (Committee on Space Research, France)
2. Introduction: Why We Need Different Vantage Points to Understand Space-based Commerce? Ron Davies (University College Dublin, Ireland), Joseph Francois (World Trade Institute, Switzerland), and Rodrigo Polanco (World Trade Institute, Switzerland)

Part 1: Space Resource Management
3. Reappraising Liability in the Age of Autonomous Space Systems: An Economic Analysis of Law Approach, Roser Almenar (Space Generation Advisory Council, Spain)
4. From the Deep Seabed to Outer Space Resources: Lessons from UNCLOS for Regulating Space Resource Activities, Nathan Eastwood (Watson, Farley & Williams, Australia)
5. Quo vadis spatium arbitrium: Role and Future of International Law and Arbitration in Space-Related Disputes, Peng Wang (Xi'an Jiaotong University, China), and Maciej Zenkiewicz (Nicolaus Copernicus University, Poland)
6. National Space Legislations and the Appropriability of Space Resources, Lesley Jane Smith and Lew Toepfer (Leuphana University Luneburg, Germany)

Part 2: Managing the Space Commons: Space Sustainability and Private Actors
7. Economic Growth in Space, Alessio Terzi (University of Cambridge, UK) and Francesco Nicoli (Politecnico di Torino, Italy)
8. Putting a Price on Space, Joseph Francois (World Trade Institute, Switzerland) and Michael Francois (Google, Switzerland)
9. The Political Economy of Subsidizing Space Commerce, Ron Davies (University College Dublin, Ireland), Joseph Francois (World Trade Institute, Switzerland), and Rodrigo Polanco (World Trade Institute, Switzerland)
10. The Afterlife of Space Junk: Legal Ramifications of Recognizing Space Debris as a Resource for Space Manufacturing and ISRU, Kamil Muzyka (Polish Science Fiction Foundation) and Anna Hurova (Koretsky State and Law Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine)
11. The Development of Space Debris Mitigation Measures at the National Level, Merve Erdem Burger (University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland)

Part 3: Space Law, National Security and Regulation of the Private Space Economy
12. Space Law and National Security, Krista Nadakavukaren Schefer (Swiss Institute of Comparative Law, Switzerland) and Riccardo Loschi (Lalive, Switzerland)
13. China-Latin America Cooperation in Outer Space: Implications for the United States? Ana Soliz de Stange (Helmut-Schmidt-Universität, Germany)
14. Introduction to Space Taxation, Erika Isabella Scuderi (Vienna University of Economic and Business, Austria)
15. Allocating Taxing Rights for Off-Planet Mining, Damien Macedo (University of Cambridge, UK)

Product details

Published 01 Oct 2026
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 416
ISBN 9781509992065
Imprint Hart Publishing
Dimensions 234 x 156 mm
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Anthology Editor

Ronald Davies

Ronald Davies has been Professor of Economics at U…

Anthology Editor

Joseph Francois

Joseph Francois is Managing Director and Professor…

Anthology Editor

Rodrigo Polanco

Rodrigo Polanco is Senior Lecturer and Researcher…

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