The paper presents preliminary direct and indirect empirical evidence that U.S. private firms currently invest at least $1 trillion annually in intangibles. This rate of investment roughly equals U.S. gross investment in nonresidential tangible assets. It also suggests that the capital stock of intangibles in the U.S. has an equilibrium market value of at least $5 trillion.
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Working Paper
What Is the U.S. Gross Investment in Intangibles? (At Least) One Trillion Dollars a Year!
October 2001
WP 01-15 – This paper argues that the rate of intangible investment — investment in the development and marketing of new products — accelerated in the wake of the electronics revolution in the 1970s.
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