Building investment is a diminishing source of economic growth
Richard Barras
Journal of Property Research, 2001, vol. 18, issue 4, 279-308
Abstract:
While the UK's capital stock seems to have embodied technical progress at a fairly steady, though probably increasing, rate since the mid-nineteenth century, a fundamental shift in the nature of that embodied technical progress occurred during the early part of the twentieth century. During the nineteenth century commercial buildings and infrastructure were the dominant components of capital investment, both quantitatively and as carriers of the new technologies. However, during the twentieth century, faster rates of technical progress in the manufacture of equipment compared to buildings ensured that its share of capital investment has increased, while its growing dominance as the engine of growth has been reinforced by taking over as the main carrier of new technologies. Whilst this has relegated commercial building to a secondary role as driver of productivity growth, the complementarity of structures and equipment means that the function of buildings as an integrated component of business capital remains as vital as ever. These findings have important implications for the property industry as it attempts to adapt to the demands of the new information economy.
Date: 2001
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)
Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/09599910110060055 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.
Export reference: BibTeX
RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan)
HTML/Text
Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:jpropr:v:18:y:2001:i:4:p:279-308
Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/RJPR20
DOI: 10.1080/09599910110060055
Access Statistics for this article
Journal of Property Research is currently edited by Bryan MacGregor
More articles in Journal of Property Research from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().