On efficient and fair management of the space debris congestion problem: a preliminary assessment on steady state

Marc Deschamps and Lionel Thomas
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Marc Deschamps: Université Marie et Louis Pasteur, CRESE (UR 3190), F-25000 Besançon, France. OFCE-Sciences Po.
Lionel Thomas: Université Marie et Louis Pasteur, CRESE (UR 3190), F-25000 Besançon, France.

No 25-08, Working Papers AFED from Association Francaise d'Economie du Droit (AFED)

Abstract: Contemporary societies differ radically from all earlier ones in that they make daily use of space probes, satellites, and space stations. An unwanted side-effect of this development is the continuing production of space debris. Increasing awareness of and concern over this growing problem means the time has come to ensure the sustainable use of space by removing some of the debris. We investigate how to manage this problem in a steady state through the formation of an international institution tasked with preventing the production of new debris and removing some existing debris effciently and equitably. This preliminary study concludes that this is feasible although it should be emphasized that, under asymmetric information, our model identifies discordance between effciency and fairness, and consequently an ambiguous effect as concerns the occurrence of the Kessler syndrome.

Keywords: outer space; space debris; non-profit-organization; incentives; efficiency; fairness; asymetric information; Kessler's syndrome (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D63 D82 H21 K33 K34 Q50 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 27 pages
Date: 2025-12
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