Jessica Catalano and Valentina Morretta have authored a chapter titled “The Socio-Economic Benefits of Earth Observation (EO): Insights from the End Users of EO Services and Applications in Italy,” which is part of the newly published, open-access OECD publication “The Economics of Space Sustainability: Delivering Economic Evidence to Guide Government Action”.
Earth observation (EO) is a rapidly evolving field within the space economy, contributing significantly to our understanding and management of Earth’s natural and societal aspects. Despite EO’s increasing importance, the literature provides limited evidence regarding its socio-economic benefits for end users. The chapter addresses this gap by presenting findings from a survey distributed to end users of EO services in Italy, a nation actively engaged in the space economy’s entire value chain.
Their research uncovers the various socio-economic advantages derived from using EO data, providing insights into this strategic domain. The chapter highlights the importance of EO services in areas such as weather monitoring, disaster management, and environmental protection, demonstrating their critical role in enhancing societal well-being and economic development.
The book “The Economics of Space Sustainability” presents the latest findings from the OECD project on the economics of space sustainability. It evaluates the societal value of space infrastructure and discusses methods for mitigating space debris, including case studies from Italy, Japan, and Korea.
As OECD publications, the chapter and the book are available for free through open access.
Catalano, G. and V. Morretta (2024), “The socio-economic benefits of earth observation (EO): Insights from the end users of EO services and applications in Italy”, in The Economics of Space Sustainability: Delivering Economic Evidence to Guide Government Action, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/f2558ff5-en.
OECD (2024), The Economics of Space Sustainability: Delivering Economic Evidence to Guide Government Action, OECD
Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b2257346-en.
Photo credits: Cover © Frame Stock Footage/shutterstock.com.