IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/boe/boeewp/192.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Capital stocks, capital services, and depreciation: an integrated framework

Author

Listed:
  • Nicholas Oulton
  • Sylaja Srinivasan

Abstract

Neo-classical theory provides an integrated framework by means of which we can measure capital stocks, capital services and depreciation. In this paper the theory is set out and reviewed. It is found that the theory is quite robust and can deal with assets like computers that are subject to rapid obsolescence. Using the framework, estimates are presented of aggregate wealth, aggregate capital services and aggregate depreciation for the United Kingdom between 1979 Q1 and 2002 Q2, and the results are tested for sensitivity to the assumptions. The principal source of uncertainty in estimating capital stocks and capital services is found to relate to the treatment and measurement of investment in computers and software. Applying US methods for these assets to UK data has a substantial effect on the growth rate of capital services and on the ratio of depreciation to GDP.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicholas Oulton & Sylaja Srinivasan, 2003. "Capital stocks, capital services, and depreciation: an integrated framework," Bank of England working papers 192, Bank of England.
  • Handle: RePEc:boe:boeewp:192
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/archive/Documents/historicpubs/workingpapers/2003/wp192.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nicholas Oulton, 2002. "ICT and Productivity Growth in the United Kingdom," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 18(3), pages 363-379.
    2. Robert E. Hall, 2001. "The Stock Market and Capital Accumulation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(5), pages 1185-1202, December.
    3. repec:ucp:bknber:9780226304557 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Feldstein, Martin S & Rothschild, Michael, 1974. "Towards an Economic Theory of Replacement Investment," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 42(3), pages 393-423, May.
    5. Jorgenson, Dale W, 1996. "Empirical Studies of Depreciation," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 34(1), pages 24-42, January.
    6. D. W. Jorgenson & Z. Griliches, 1967. "The Explanation of Productivity Change," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 34(3), pages 249-283.
    7. repec:sae:niesru:v:147:y::i:1:p:84-96 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Martin L. Weitzman, 1976. "On the Welfare Significance of National Product in a Dynamic Economy," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 90(1), pages 156-162.
    9. Murray Foss & Marylin Manser & Allan Young, 1993. "Price Measurements and Their Uses," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number foss93-1.
    10. Karl Whelan, 2002. "Computers, Obsolescence, And Productivity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(3), pages 445-461, August.
    11. Jens Larsen & Katharine Neiss & Fergal Shortall, 2002. "Factor utilisation and productivity estimates for the United Kingdom," Bank of England working papers 162, Bank of England.
    12. Wadhwani, Sushil & Wall, Martin, 1986. "The UK Capital Stock--New Estimates of Premature Scrapping," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 2(3), pages 44-55, Autumn.
    13. Oliner, Stephen D, 1996. "New Evidence on the Retirement and Depreciation of Machine Tools," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 34(1), pages 57-77, January.
    14. Paul Schreyer, 2001. "The OECD Productivity Manual: A Guide to the Measurement of Industry-Level and Aggregate Productivity," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 2, pages 37-51, Spring.
    15. Hulten, Charles R & Wykoff, Frank C, 1996. "Issues in the Measurement of Economic Depreciation: Introductory Remarks," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 34(1), pages 10-23, January.
    16. Berndt, Ernst R. & Fuss, Melvyn A., 1986. "Productivity measurement with adjustments for variations in capacity utilization and other forms of temporary equilibrium," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1-2), pages 7-29.
    17. Nicholas Oulton, 2004. "Productivity Versus Welfare; Or GDP Versus Weitzman's NDP," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 50(3), pages 329-355, September.
    18. Dale W. Jorgenson & Kevin J. Stiroh, 2000. "Raising the Speed Limit: U.S. Economic Growth in the Information Age," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 31(1), pages 125-236.
    19. Stephen D. Oliner, 1993. "Constant-Quality Price Change, Depreciation, and Retirement of Mainframe Computers," NBER Chapters, in: Price Measurements and Their Uses, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Robert J. Gordon, 1990. "The Measurement of Durable Goods Prices," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number gord90-1.
    21. Oulton, Nicholas, 1995. "Depreciation, Obsolescence and the Role of Capital in Growth Accounting," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(1), pages 21-33, January.
    22. W. Erwin Diewert, 1980. "Aggregation Problems in the Measurement of Capital," NBER Chapters, in: The Measurement of Capital, pages 433-538, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Usher, Dan (ed.), 1980. "The Measurement of Capital," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226843001, September.
    24. Chow, Gregory C & Lin, An-loh, 1971. "Best Linear Unbiased Interpolation, Distribution, and Extrapolation of Time Series by Related Series," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 53(4), pages 372-375, November.
    25. Hulten, Charles R. & Wykoff, Frank C., 1981. "The estimation of economic depreciation using vintage asset prices : An application of the Box-Cox power transformation," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 367-396, April.
    26. Franklin M. Fisher, 1965. "Embodied Technical Change and the Existence of an Aggregate Capital Stock," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 32(4), pages 263-288.
    27. Dan Usher, 1980. "The Measurement of Capital," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number ushe80-1.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nicholas Oulton, 2002. "ICT and Productivity Growth in the United Kingdom," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 18(3), pages 363-379.
    2. Charles R. Hulten, 2000. "Total Factor Productivity: A Short Biography," NBER Working Papers 7471, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. W. Erwin Diewert, 2003. "Measuring Capital," NBER Working Papers 9526, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Oulton, Nicholas & Wallis, Gavin, 2016. "Capital stocks and capital services: Integrated and consistent estimates for the United Kingdom, 1950–2013," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 117-125.
    5. Hulten, Charles R., 2010. "Growth Accounting," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 987-1031, Elsevier.
    6. Patrick Musso, 2006. "Capital Obsolescence, Growth Accounting and Total Factor Productivity," Revue de l'OFCE, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 97(5), pages 217-233.
    7. Dale W. Jorgenson & Mun S. Ho & Kevin J. Stiroh, 2005. "Growth of US Industries and Investments in Information Technology and Higher Education," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring Capital in the New Economy, pages 403-478, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Nicholas Oulton, 2007. "Ex Post Versus Ex Ante Measures Of The User Cost Of Capital," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 53(2), pages 295-317, June.
    9. Charles R. Hulten, 2009. "Growth Accounting," NBER Working Papers 15341, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Edwin Dean & Michael Harper, 2001. "The BLS Productivity Measurement Program," NBER Chapters, in: New Developments in Productivity Analysis, pages 55-84, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Karl Whelan, 2002. "Computers, Obsolescence, And Productivity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(3), pages 445-461, August.
    12. Jonathan Temple, 2002. "The Assessment: The New Economy," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 18(3), pages 241-264.
    13. Robert C. Feenstra & Christopher R. Knittel, 2009. "Reassessing the US Quality Adjustment to Computer Prices: The Role of Durability and Changing Software," NBER Chapters, in: Price Index Concepts and Measurement, pages 129-160, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Erwin Diewert, 2009. "The aggregation of capital over vintages in a model of embodied technical progress," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 1-19, August.
    15. Ana Rincon-Aznar & Rebecca Riley & Garry Young, 2017. "Academic Review of Asset Lives in the UK," National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) Discussion Papers 474, National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
    16. Carol Corrado & Charles Hulten & Daniel Sichel, 2009. "Intangible Capital And U.S. Economic Growth," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 55(3), pages 661-685, September.
    17. Jean-Paul Fitoussi & Hélène Baudchon & Jérôme Creel & Jean-Luc Gaffard & Eloi Laurent & Jacques Le Cacheux & Patrick Musso & Michel Aglietta & Vladimir Borgy & Jean Chateau & Michel Juillard & Gilles , 2005. "Potential Growth in the EU : Prospects from Technical Progress and Eastern Enlargment," Working Papers hal-03458887, HAL.
    18. Prucha, Ingmar R. & Nadiri, M. Ishaq, 1996. "Endogenous capital utilization and productivity measurement in dynamic factor demand models Theory and an application to the U.S. electrical machinery industry," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 71(1-2), pages 343-379.
    19. Whelan, Karl, 2007. "Embodiment, productivity, and the age distribution of capital," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 724-740, December.
    20. Jesus Felipe & Franklin M. Fisher, 2003. "Aggregation in Production Functions: What Applied Economists should Know," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2‐3), pages 208-262, May.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:boe:boeewp:192. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Digital Media Team (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/boegvuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.