IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/esr/wpaper/wp557.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Investment in knowledge-based capital and its contribution to productivity growth: a review of international and Irish evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Siedschlag, Iulia
  • Lawless, Martina
  • Di Ubaldo, Mattia

Abstract

This paper reviews the international evidence on measuring investment in knowledge-based capital (KBC) and its impact on productivity. On this evidence basis, it provides a conceptual framework to analyse Ireland’s performance in this area on macroeconomic, industry and firm levels. The evidence reviewed in this paper indicates that investment in KBC is sizeable and has increased over time in many advanced economies, including Ireland. At the country, sectoral and firm level, the contribution of investment in KBC to productivity growth over and above other factors including investment in tangible capital is documented as important. This paper also reviews and discusses economic framework policies which could incentivise further investment in knowledge-based capital in Ireland.

Suggested Citation

  • Siedschlag, Iulia & Lawless, Martina & Di Ubaldo, Mattia, 2017. "Investment in knowledge-based capital and its contribution to productivity growth: a review of international and Irish evidence," Papers WP557, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    • Handle: RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp557
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.esri.ie/pubs/WP557.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Siedschlag, Iulia & Di Ubaldo, Mattia, 2017. "The impact of investment in knowledge-based capital on productivity: firm-level evidence from Ireland," Papers WP556, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    2. Mariela Dal Borgo & Peter Goodridge & Jonathan Haskel & Annarosa Pesole, 2013. "Productivity and Growth in UK Industries: An Intangible Investment Approach," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 75(6), pages 806-834, December.
    3. Gavin Murphy & Iulia Siedschlag & John McQuinn, 2017. "Employment protection and industry innovation," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 26(3), pages 379-398.
    4. Kevin J. Fox & Peter Goodridge & Jonathan Haskel & Gavin Wallis, 2017. "Spillovers from R&D and Other Intangible Investment: Evidence from UK Industries," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 63, pages 22-48, February.
    5. David L. Carr & James R. Markusen & Keith E. Maskus, 2021. "Estimating The Knowledge-Capital Model of the Multinational Enterprise," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: BROADENING TRADE THEORY Incorporating Market Realities into Traditional Models, chapter 5, pages 95-110, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    6. Susanto Basu & John G. Fernald & Nicholas Oulton & Sylaja Srinivasan, 2003. "The Case of the Missing Productivity Growth: Or, Does Information Technology Explain why Productivity Accelerated in the US but not the UK?," NBER Working Papers 10010, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Siedschlag, Iulia & Lawless, Martina & Di Ubaldo, Mattia, 2017. "Investment in knowledge-based capital and its impact on productivity," Papers RB20170208, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    8. James R. Markusen, 2004. "Multinational Firms and the Theory of International Trade," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262633078, April.
    9. Felix Roth & Anna-Elisabeth Thum, 2022. "Intangible Capital and Labor Productivity Growth: Panel Evidence for the EU from 1998–2005," Contributions to Economics, in: Intangible Capital and Growth, chapter 0, pages 101-128, Springer.
    10. Carol Corrado & Jonathan Haskel & Cecilia Jona-Lasinio & Massimiliano Iommi, 2012. "Intangible Capital and Growth in Advanced Economies: Measurement Methods and Comparative Results," Economics Program Working Papers 12-03, The Conference Board, Economics Program.
    11. Haskel, Jonathan & Wallis, Gavin, 2013. "Public support for innovation, intangible investment and productivity growth in the UK market sector," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 119(2), pages 195-198.
    12. Kevin J. Fox & Thomas Niebel & Mary O'Mahony & Marianne Saam, 2017. "The Contribution of Intangible Assets to Sectoral Productivity Growth in the EU," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 63, pages 49-67, February.
    13. Kyoji Fukao & Tsutomu Miyagawa & Kentaro Mukai & Yukio Shinoda & Konomi Tonogi, 2009. "Intangible Investment In Japan: Measurement And Contribution To Economic Growth," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 55(3), pages 717-736, September.
    14. Hyunbae Chun, 2003. "Information Technology and the Demand for Educated Workers: Disentangling the Impacts of Adoption versus Use," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 85(1), pages 1-8, February.
    15. 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.
    16. Klaus E Meyer & Evis Sinani, 2009. "When and where does foreign direct investment generate positive spillovers? A meta-analysis," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(7), pages 1075-1094, September.
    17. Susanto Basu & John G. Fernald & Nicholas Oulton & Sylaja Srinivasan, 2004. "The Case of the Missing Productivity Growth, or Does Information Technology Explain Why Productivity Accelerated in the United States but Not in the United Kingdom?," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2003, Volume 18, pages 9-82, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Dan Andrews & Alain de Serres, 2012. "Intangible Assets, Resource Allocation and Growth: A Framework for Analysis," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 989, OECD Publishing.
    19. Haskel, Jonathan & Iommi, Massimiliano, 2012. "Intangible Capital and Growth in Advanced Economies: Measurement and Comparative Results," CEPR Discussion Papers 9061, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    20. Peter Goodridge & Jonathan Haskel & Gavin Wallis, 2013. "Can Intangible Investment Explain the UK Productivity Puzzle?," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 224(1), pages 48-58, May.
    21. Crass, Dirk & Peters, Bettina, 2014. "Intangible assets and firm-level productivity," ZEW Discussion Papers 14-120, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    22. Dolores Añón Higón & Jaime Gómez & Pilar Vargas, 2017. "Complementarities in innovation strategy: do intangibles play a role in enhancing firm performance?," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 26(5), pages 865-886.
    23. Mauro Giorgio Marrano & Jonathan Haskel & Gavin Wallis, 2009. "What Happened To The Knowledge Economy? Ict, Intangible Investment, And Britain'S Productivity Record Revisited," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 55(3), pages 686-716, September.
    24. Corrado, Carol & Haskel, Jonathan & Jona-Lasinio, Cecilia & Iommi, Massimiliano, 2016. "Intangible investment in the EU and US before and since the Great Recession and its contribution to productivity growth," EIB Working Papers 2016/08, European Investment Bank (EIB).
    25. Hall, B.H., 2011. "Innovation and productivity," MERIT Working Papers 2011-028, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    26. Baldwin, John R. & Gu, Wulong & Macdonald, Ryan, 2012. "Intangible Capital and Productivity Growth in Canada," The Canadian Productivity Review 2012029e, Statistics Canada, Economic Analysis Division.
    27. Charlie Karlsson & Gunther Maier & Michaela Trippl & Iulia Siedschlag & Gavin Murphy, 2010. "ICT and Regional Economic Dynamics: A Literature Review," JRC Research Reports JRC59920, Joint Research Centre.
    28. Bartel, Ann P & Lichtenberg, Frank R, 1987. "The Comparative Advantage of Educated Workers in Implementing New Technology," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 69(1), pages 1-11, February.
    29. repec:bla:jecsur:v:12:y:1998:i:3:p:247-77 is not listed on IDEAS
    30. Hulten, Charles R, 1979. "On the "Importance" of Productivity Change," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 69(1), pages 126-136, March.
    31. McGuirk, Helen & Lenihan, Helena & Hart, Mark, 2015. "Measuring the impact of innovative human capital on small firms’ propensity to innovate," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 965-976.
    32. Holger Görg & Eric Strobl, 2016. "Multinational Companies And Productivity Spillovers: A Meta-Analysis," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES AND HOST COUNTRY DEVELOPMENT Volume 53: World Scientific Studies in International Economics, chapter 8, pages 145-161, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    33. van Ark, Bart & Hao, Janet X. & Corrado, Carol & Hulten, Charles, 2009. "Measuring intangible capital and its contribution to economic growth in Europe," EIB Papers 3/2009, European Investment Bank, Economics Department.
    34. Carol Corrado & John Haltiwanger & Daniel Sichel, 2005. "Measuring Capital in the New Economy," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number corr05-1.
    35. Ruane, Frances & Siedschlag, Iulia, 2011. "Boosting Innovation and Productivity in Enterprises: What Works?," Papers EC3, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    36. Caves, Richard E., 1985. "International trade and industrial organization: Problems, solved and unsolved," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 377-395, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Marie Le Mouel & Alexander Schiersch, 2020. "Knowledge-Based Capital and Productivity Divergence," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1868, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.

    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. Siedschlag, Iulia & Di Ubaldo, Mattia, 2017. "The impact of investment in knowledge-based capital on productivity: firm-level evidence from Ireland," Papers WP556, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    2. Chen, Wen & Niebel, Thomas & Saam, Marianne, 2016. "Are intangibles more productive in ICT-intensive industries? Evidence from EU countries," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 471-484.
    3. Roth, Felix, 2019. "Intangible Capital and Labour Productivity Growth: A Review of the Literature," Hamburg Discussion Papers in International Economics 4, University of Hamburg, Department of Economics.
    4. Carolina Hintzmann & Josep Lladós-Masllorens & Raul Ramos, 2021. "Intangible Assets and Labor Productivity Growth," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-21, May.
    5. Mattia Di Ubaldo & Iulia Siedschlag, 2021. "Investment in Knowledge‐Based Capital and Productivity: Firm‐Level Evidence from a Small Open Economy," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 67(2), pages 363-393, June.
    6. Hyunbae Chun & M. Ishaq Nadiri, 2016. "Intangible Investment and Changing Sources of Growth in Korea," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 67(1), pages 50-76, March.
    7. Carol A. Corrado & Charles R. Hulten, 2014. "Innovation Accounting," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring Economic Sustainability and Progress, pages 595-628, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Shenglang Yang, 2016. "Intangible capital and sectoral energy intensity: Evidence from 40 economies," ANU Working Papers in Economics and Econometrics 2016-646, Australian National University, College of Business and Economics, School of Economics.
    9. Schubert, Torben & Jäger, Angela & Türkeli, Serdar & Visentin, Fabiana, 2020. "Addressing the productivity paradox with big data: A literature review and adaptation of the CDM econometric model," MERIT Working Papers 2020-050, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    10. Carol Corrado & Jonathan Haskel & Cecilia Jona-Lasinio, 2017. "Knowledge Spillovers, ICT and Productivity Growth," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 79(4), pages 592-618, August.
    11. Peter Goodridge & Jonathan Haskel, 2023. "Accounting for the slowdown in UK innovation and productivity," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 90(359), pages 780-812, July.
    12. Mariela Dal Borgo & Peter Goodridge & Jonathan Haskel & Annarosa Pesole, 2013. "Productivity and Growth in UK Industries: An Intangible Investment Approach," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 75(6), pages 806-834, December.
    13. Tsutomu Miyagawa & Shoichi Hisa, 2013. "Measurement of Intangible Investment by Industry and Economic Growth in Japan," Public Policy Review, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance Japan, vol. 9(2), pages 405-432, March.
    14. Murat Ocak & Derya Fındık, 2019. "The Impact of Intangible Assets and Sub-Components of Intangible Assets on Sustainable Growth and Firm Value: Evidence from Turkish Listed Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-23, September.
    15. Kevin J. Fox & Peter Goodridge & Jonathan Haskel & Gavin Wallis, 2017. "Spillovers from R&D and Other Intangible Investment: Evidence from UK Industries," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 63, pages 22-48, February.
    16. Thum-Thysen, Anna & Voigt, Peter & Weiss, Christoph, 2021. "Complementarities in capital formation and production: Tangible and intangible assets across Europe," EIB Working Papers 2021/12, European Investment Bank (EIB).
    17. 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.
    18. Ni, Qingshan & Zhang, Hao & Lu, Yanjin, 2023. "Way to measure Intangible capital for innovation-driven economic growth: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 156-172.
    19. Dan Andrews & Chiara Criscuolo, 2013. "Knowledge-Based Capital, Innovation and Resource Allocation," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1046, OECD Publishing.
    20. Szalavetz, Andrea, 2012. "Az immateriális beruházások és a nem közvetlenül a termelésben foglalkoztatottak szerepe a gazdasági felzárkózásban [The role intangible investments and non-production workers play in economic catc," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(11), pages 1187-1206.

    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:esr:wpaper:wp557. 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: Sarah Burns (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/esriiie.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.