ST. LOUIS, Dec. 2 (UPI) — The destruction of the two Death Stars were pivotal moments in the plot of the original Star Wars trilogy, but a St. Louis professor believes that they also had a dire economic impact on the universe in the movies.
Assistant professor of engineering at Washington University Zachary Feinstein recently published a study entitled “It’s a Trap: Emperor Palpatine’s Poison Pill”which posits that there would be a “catastrophic” economic crisis in the Star Warsuniverse brought on by the destruction of the Death Stars.
“This project was really about modeling the size of the Galactic economy and banking sector,” Feinstein said in a university news release. “Once I had that, I simply applied my research on measuring financial systemic risk to determine the required bailout.”
Feinstein’s research indicates that the two Death Stars constructed in the films cost approximately $193 quintillion and $419 quintillion respectively to complete. He calculated the cost of the planet-destroying space weapons by comparing them to the real life USS Gerald Ford.
According to Feinstein, the economic impact of both Death Stars being destroyed within a four-year period would cause an economic collapse comparable to the Great Depression.
Feinstein says the size of the Galactic economy would drop by 30 percent without a government bailout, which he doesn’t believe the Rebel Alliance would provide.
“The outlook appears very grim for the common Imperial citizen,” he said. “I think it is unlikely the Rebel Alliance could have found the political will and financial resources to provide the necessary banking bailout until it is too late.”
