Aerospace industry in 50 years

Aerospace is often viewed as an important industry. A new book, “The Political Economy of Aerospace Industries: A Key Driver of Grown and International Competitivemess?,” examines the industry’s importance; and whether there is an economic case for government support of the industry. The aerospace industry is a relatively new. It didn’t exist in 1900, but by 2014 had been transformed from an aircraft to aerospace industry. It has moved from the Earth’s atmosphere into space; and replaced manned aircraft with missiles, rockets and UAVs. Governments have been central to its development and transformation through military funding. The importance of government means the industry can be analyzed using both conventional economics and the economics of politics and public choice analysis. The book concludes with a review of the industry’s future prospects. What might it look like in 50 years? The book is written by Keith Harley, a defence economist of the aerospace industry. He is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of York (England) where he was director of the Centre for Defence Economics and founding editor of the journal Defence and Peace Economics. (Source: ElGar Blog, 11/2014)