Ex Terra Podcast - George Pullen @ Milky Way Economy

What are the economics of space? Our guest on this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast is George Pullen, Chief economist and Co-Founder of the Milky Way Economy. George is also the author of “Blockchain and the Space Economy” with co-author Samson Williams. George also teaches in the Columbia University summer program a series on the space industry and space economy.

(A) belief in order is fundamental for humans who want to then go out and pursue economic efforts to manipulate it.”

George Pullen
George began his career in banking and alternative markets, but not in the commercial space sector In this interview, host Tom Patton talks with George about topics ranging from how the economics of space began … in his view, with Claudius Ptolemy some 2,000 years ago … to where we might see the space economy in the next 15-20 years.

Ptolemy, Pullen explains, developed a theory that the sun, other planets and stars revolved around the Earth. And while we all know NOW that is not true, it did transform chaotic celestial bodies into an ordered system. “And a belief in order is fundamental for humans who want to then go out and pursue economic efforts to manipulate it.” It’s a much better origin story, he says.

George is a free-market economist, teacher, and advisor with twenty years of experience as a strategic, analytical, problem solver. Prior to founding Milky Way Economy, a think tank focused on writing and advising the businesses, technologists and financiers of the Space Economy, he learned his craft serving as an executive, banker, broker, hedge fund trader, economist and lecturer. His areas of market expertise, research, and publishing cover a range of alternative markets and include: healthcare, energy, blockchain, rare earths, derivatives, ESG, trading, defense innovation, AI/ML, crowdfunding and Space Economics.

George is driven by a curiosity and passion for convergence, connecting people and ideas across diverse disciplines and finding new questions that need answers. He is a frequent guest lecturer at colleges and conferences, and a risk advisor for the Global Association of Risk Professionals. He holds adjunct appointments and guest lectures at a number of institutions to include: Columbia University, University of New Hampshire Law, Eisenhower War College, and Johns Hopkins. He is also the Author of the book Blockchain and the Space Economy and host of The Space Economy.

On this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast, George offers his insights about whether the money flowing into the space economy has the potential to be a “bubble”; the possible effects of a proposed $4 trillion US Government investment in infrastructure on the economics of space, how rapidly-advancing technology and falling launch costs are moving the market, and; some of the different paths startup and established companies can attract capital investments in their products and ideas.

You can find George on LinkedIn, Twitter/Instagram @Pullen4Maine, @MilkyWayEconomy, or @TheSpaceEconomy. His book “Blockchain and the Space Economy” is available from the Milky Way Economy website.

https://www.milkywayeconomy.com