The Daily Update: Star Wars Day

Today is Star Wars Day, May the 4th be with you. Back in 2015, Zachary Feinstein, at the time an assistant professor at Washington University, set out to answer a question that nobody asked or even thought of: That being what was the state of the Galactic economy following the Empire’s collapse at the end of Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi? 

Well, according to Feinstein, the Galactic economy was on the brink of collapse. The gigantic government project, the second Death Star, had just been destroyed by the Rebel Alliance, and the Galactic economy was set to enter a depression of “astronomical proportions.”

Feinstein estimates the Death Star 2 would have cost USD419 quintillion to build (USD226 quintillion in steel alone). The first Death Star, including R&D, was a bargain at just USD193 quintillion.

Assuming the first Death Star had a similar cost profile to the US’s Manhattan Project during WWII, Feinstein estimates Gross Galactic Product (GGP, similar to GDP) at USD4.6 sextillion per year.

The only option would be a bailout of the Imperial financial sector. The Empire would need a rescue package of at least 15% of GGP in order to prevent a catastrophic economic collapse.

However, seeing as the Force doesn’t awaken in Episode VII for 30 years following the Rebel victory, that might be enough time for a U-shaped economic recovery.

We’ll save you trouble of looking up how many zeros there are in a quintillion and a sextillion, the answer being eighteen and twenty-one, respectively.

Good day you have my young Padawans.

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