No. 1022 - The economic importance of intangible capital and investment: a comparative analysis across advanced economies

Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional papers)
by Roberta De Luca e Rosalia Greco
June 2026
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Using EUKLEMS data, the paper analyses the evolution of intangible capital between 2000 and 2021 in Italy and in some other advanced economies, assessing its weight in value added and its composition. It also studies the implications of using an extended measure of intangible capital, which includes assets not recorded in the national accounts (for example, organizational models developed by managers), for measuring productivity and for interpreting the countries' divergent economic performances.

Intangible capital plays an important role in firms' productivity growth. Even when activities not captured in the national accounts are included, its share in value added is smaller in Italy than in France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Moreover, unlike in those countries, in Italy investment in intangible assets still is below investment in tangible assets, and the contribution of intangible capital to productivity growth is more limited.

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  1. 12 June 2026
    No. 1022 - The economic importance of intangible capital and investment: a comparative analysis across advanced economies
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