Early in the twenty-first century, a quiet revolution occurred. For the first time, the major developed economies began to invest more in intangible assets, like design, branding, and software, than in tangible assets, like machinery, buildings, and computers. For all sorts of businesses, the ability to deploy assets that one can neither see nor touch is increasingly the main source of long-term success. But this is not just a familiar story of the so-called new economy. Capitalism without Capital shows that the growing importance of intangible assets has also played a role in some of the larger economic changes of the past decade, including the growth in economic inequality and the stagnation of productivity. Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake explore the unusual economic characteristics of intangible investment and discuss how an economy rich in intangibles is fundamentally different from one based on tangibles. Capitalism without Capital concludes by outlining how managers, investors, and policymakers can exploit the characteristics of an intangible age to grow their businesses, portfolios, and economies.

From the acclaimed authors of Capitalism without Capital, radical ideas for restoring prosperity in today’s intangible economy The past two decades have witnessed sluggish economic growth, mounting inequality, dysfunctional competition, and a host of other ills that have left people wondering what has happened to the future they were promised. Restarting the Future reveals how these problems arise from a failure to develop the institutions demanded by an economy now reliant on intangible capital such as ideas, relationships, brands, and knowledge. In this groundbreaking and provocative book, Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake argue that the great economic disappointment of the century is the result of an incomplete transition from an economy based on physical capital, and show how the vital institutions that underpin our economy remain geared to an outmoded way of doing business. The growth of intangible investment has slowed significantly in recent years, making the world poorer, less fair, and more vulnerable to existential threats. Haskel and Westlake present exciting new ideas to help us catch up with the intangible revolution, offering a road map for how to finance businesses, improve our cities, fund more science and research, reform monetary policy, and reshape intellectual property rules for the better. Drawing on Haskel and Westlake’s experience at the forefront of finance and economic policymaking, Restarting the Future sets out a host of radical but practical solutions that can lead us into the future.

This book is the result of a two-year interdisciplinary research programme named PRISM (Policy making, Reporting and measuring, Intangibles, Skills development and Management), financed by the European Commission and aimed both at understanding better how these assets are created and developed and what the policy implications of their growing importance in economies are. The book focuses on the policy issues raised by the increasing importance of intangible assets in a country's growth and competitiveness. The main idea is that the value of intangible assets, which is imperfectly captured by current economic indicators and imperfectly formalized in economic theory, lies in their being the cumulative elements that keep the economy together - the glue of the system. This argument leads to the focus on networks and social capital as drivers of the development of intangible assets and is illustrated by the case of EU innovation and knowledge diffusion policy.

Safeguarding Intangible Assets provides strategies for preserving and enhancing a company's intangible assets to increase its profitability, competitiveness, and sustainability. Intangible assets such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, methodologies, and brand typically account for 80 percent of an organization's value and revenue. There are many forces making it more and more difficult to protect these assets, and securing them is a complex issue often overlooked by security and risk managers. Many security managers do not have adequate policies or procedures in place to protect these assets from compromise, infringement, and theft. Safeguarding Intangible Assets provides managers with the tools necessary for protecting these assets through effective and consistent oversight designed to preserve their control, use, and ownership. The book offers strategies for various types of business transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions, corporate-university R&D alliances, new product launches, early stage firms, and university-based spin-offs. - Offers step-by-step guidelines and best practices for establishing and maintaining an intangible asset protection program - Provides intangible asset risk management strategies that preserve the company's value, revenue, and competitive advantages - Shows how to collaboratively build a company culture that anticipates and recognizes intangible asset risks in everyday transactions and operations - Strengthens the interface with other departments' security practices, including IT, management, legal, accounting, finance, and risk management

'I had the privilege and pleasure of supervising the Ph.D. dissertation from which the present book originated. Its author, Beth Webster, was independent, critical in a positive way and original. She acquired a most thorough knowledge and mastery of the relevant literature. She recognized early on the growing importance, both qualitatively and quantitatively, of investment in intangible assets in modern economic processes. She set about developing an appropriate framework, drawing on Kalecki's insights in particular, within which to analyse the issues involved. The outcome is the present book - which is original, relevant, comprehensive and a pleasure to read.' - G.C. Harcourt, University of New South Wales, Australia

This book is the first comprehensive, scientifically based study of the nature and impact of intangibles. Weaving case studies and real-world examples with contemporary business theory, Baruch Lev - establishes an economic framework to analyze managerial and investment issues concerning intangibles; - surveys the impact of intangibles on corporate performance and market values, including management difficulties, risk, questions of property rights, marketability, and cost structure; - analyzes information deficiencies associated with intangibles, including the major economic principles governing intangible investments, limits of management information systems, and recommendations for improved accounting disclosure; - sets forth a comprehensive information system—aimed at satisfying the needs of both internal and external decision makers—to reflect the impact and value of intangibles within the context of enterprise performance.

Praise for Intangible Assets "In Intangible Assets, Jeffrey Cohen presents an informative, thought-provoking and practical look at an increasingly important component of every business's worth. He describes the art and science of identifying assets that have clear economic benefit, but are typically not found on the balance sheet, and he provides an invaluable framework within which the reader can value these assets, despite their elusive nature." --Rick Westervelt, President, Skylist, Inc. "Jeffrey Cohen's integrative approach to conceptual issues of intangible assets is creative and a refreshing contribution. He brings law, economics, finance, and accounting to the same table, which results in a comprehensive framework for understanding how value is created and sustained. His construct of 'proto-assets' and 'portfolio of intangible economic benefits' is key. Written in an easy-to-read style with many practical examples, this book will be useful for both novice and experienced professionals." --W. Dana Northcut, PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor of Accounting Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago Principal, Chicago Partners, LLC "This volume is the perfect resource for newcomers to IP valuation. Through lucid explanations and well-chosen illustrations, it does for the reader exactly what a valuation expert should do for a client--it makes the abstract concrete. But this volume is not just for the novice; it holds insights that will be useful to IP experts in law, accounting, and economics." --Edward F. Malone, Partner, Jenner & Block LLP

Despite the now widely recognized importance of intangible assets and intellectual capital, they still appear to be poorly understood by both academics and practitioners. Indeed, the necessity for adopting a fresh approach to their reporting, measurement and management is today generally clear and accepted. This book gives room to new perspectives which broaden the scope and depth of the investigation, whilst also opening up innovative methods and opportunities for practice.

As the accelerated technological advances of the past two decades continue to reshape the United States' economy, intangible assets and high-technology investments are taking larger roles. These developments have raised a number of concerns, such as: how do we measure intangible assets? Are we accurately appraising newer, high-technology capital? The answers to these questions have broad implications for the assessment of the economy's growth over the long term, for the pace of technological advancement in the economy, and for estimates of the nation's wealth. In Measuring Capital in the New Economy, Carol Corrado, John Haltiwanger, Daniel Sichel, and a host of distinguished collaborators offer new approaches for measuring capital in an economy that is increasingly dominated by high-technology capital and intangible assets. As the contributors show, high-tech capital and intangible assets affect the economy in ways that are notoriously difficult to appraise. In this detailed and thorough analysis of the problem and its solutions, the contributors study the nature of these relationships and provide guidance as to what factors should be included in calculations of different types of capital for economists, policymakers, and the financial and accounting communities alike.

Quantitative measures of international exchange have historically focused on trade in tangible products or capital. However, services have recently become a larger portion of developed economies and international trade, and will only increase in the future. In International Trade in Services and Intangibles in the Era of Globalization, Marshall Reinsdorf and Matthew J. Slaughter examine new and emerging patterns of trade, especially the growing importance of transactions involving services or intangible assets such as intellectual property. A distinguished team of contributors analyzes the challenges involved in measuring trade in intangibles, the comparative advantages enjoyed by United States service industries, and the heightened international competition for jobs, capital investment, economic growth, and tax revenue that results from trade in services. This comprehensive volume will be necessary reading for scholars seeking to understand the rapidly changing global economy.