Types of Capital and their Measurement

Josh Martin, Leonard Nakamura and Rachel Soloveichik

Discussion Papers from Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence

Abstract: Capital is notoriously heterogeneous, including physical, human and natural capitals, and this heterogeneity can make measurement very difficult. To bring some structure to the wide range of capital assets, and inform measurement, we establish a set of five dimensions of capital in order to classify capital types: tangible or intangible; produced or non-produced; standardized or non-standardized; exclusive or non-exclusive; and fixed or non-fixed. Based on a cross-classification of these dimensions, we identify a range of capital types, and use this to draw some lessons for measurement. We highlight which valuation methods best measure which types of capital. Non-standardized assets are hard to measure due to a lack of markets and comparators, while non-exclusive assets are hard to value since the value to the owner is not exhaustive.

Keywords: Measurement; capital; investment; depreciation; intangibles; natural capital (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C43 C51 C82 O4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-11-12
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