Planet Money · Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Economist Natalie Stukel argues that Antarctica, despite having no formal markets or private ownership, provides massive and hugely important goods and services to the global economy. She states that economics is about more than just markets and can be used to understand resources around the world.
“And, uh, I think Antarctica may not have many markets, but the goods and services that it supplies to the rest of the world are massive, really hugely important to the entire world economy.”
“It means there are no markets that exist, but economics is about far more than markets.”