The OECD publishes the 2nd Edition of the Handbook on Measuring the Space Economy [Aug/2022]

The OECD has published the second edition of the ‘Handbook on measuring the Space Economy’. Ten years after the first iteration, this step was justified with a strong diversification of actors contributing to the space economy in recent years, as well as the significant progress in measuring the space economy reliably over the past decade. The publication revisits and improves on multiple aspects with a focus on resolving measurement challenges. These include a revision of space economy definitions, space economy survey principles, and an expansion into the field of impact assessments.

While the general OECD definition of the space economy from 2012 remains unchanged, this edition complements it with the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) definition from 2020 that enables the categorisation of selected goods and services that are part of the space economy (see full article on BEA United States Space Economy (here). Together they capture the three main segments of the space economy: The upstream, representing the technological and scientific backbone. The downstream, representing the “down to earth” infrastructure rely on inputs from the upstream. And activities that are derived from activities in the space sector but are not relying on them to function.

The handbook provides a comprehensive overview of available sector industry surveys and their key takeaways. For future surveys, the OECD continues to advise towards ever growing cooperation of international entities and the use of standardised methods and best practices. Lastly, the OECD introduces a new chapter regarding impact assessments that highlights selected effects and approaches to their measurement, as well as recommendations to apply for most meaningful results.

The full document with detailed information can be found here.