New Article at Journal of Transhumanism

Robin Hanson (rhanson@gmu.edu)
Wed, 17 Nov 1999 14:31:26 -0500

We are pleased to announce we have published a new article at Journal of Transhumanism. We expect to announce another article within the next month. See: http://www.transhumanist.com/



John Hickman, "The Political Economy of Very Large Space Projects", Journal of Transhumanism, Volume 4, November 1999.

While popular science writers typically describe the benefits to be derived from their favorite very large space development project in detail, their treatment of the crucial initial capitalization of such projects is typically sparse or implausible. Capitalization is a crucial problem for these projects because the total capital investment required is very large and the investment takes a very long time before producing economic returns. "Chunky" investments are unattractive to most private investors and lenders. Very large space development projects are best understood as massive public works projects which are necessary to open frontiers. Despite the libertarian sentiments in much of the popular science writing on very large space development projects, government would likely have to play a large role in capitalizing such projects.


Robin Hanson rhanson@gmu.edu http://hanson.gmu.edu Asst. Prof. Economics, George Mason University MSN 1D3, Carow Hall, Fairfax VA 22030
703-993-2326 FAX: 703-993-2323