Elon Musk's SpaceX holds sway over the emerging space economy in a way that has more in common with notorious colonial-era trading companies than the competitive markets of today's textbooks, according to a new study.

Alessio Terzi & Stefano Marcuzzi consider lessons from the three-century era when corporate monopolies operated beyond the reach of sovereigns.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX holds sway over the emerging space economy in a way that has more in common with notorious colonial-era trading companies than the competitive markets of…