INTANGIBLES: HOW FAR WE HAVE COME AND THE ROAD AHEAD

Abstract

Investment in intangible assets as a share of business sector GDP has increased rapidly across advanced market economies during the past several decades, and this explosion in intangible capital has been matched by a huge increase in related research on how rising intangible intensity has affected economic activity, the structure of the economy, and financial markets. These developments provide the backdrop for this survey essay—a summary of a keynote address delivered at the ESCoE‐IARIW conference on intangible assets held in London in 2021—written from the perspective of someone involved in intangibles research since the early 2000s. The essay selectively reviews work by researchers inside and outside National Statistical Offices (mostly on the measurement side) to highlight how far the measurement community has come since the early 2000s and to offer a perspective on key measurement research questions for the future to highlight the road ahead.