Intangible assets and transactions within multinational enterprises : implications for national economic accounts

Abstract

Transactions involving intangible assets within multinational enterprises impose challenges for national economic accountants. In light of the challenges, recent research at the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis aims to identify areas for improving the treatment of multinational enterprises in national economic accounts. This paper summarizes the work and demonstrates implications for gross domestic product – the most widely cited measure in national economic accounts – of the United States.