National accounting for intangible assets in the knowledge economy

• Published in: Journal of financial regulation and compliance Vol. 18; no. 2; pp. 106 - 119
• Main Author: Clacher, Iain
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Emerald Group Publishing Limited 11.05.2010
• Subjects: Accounting; Business cycles; Costs; Innovations; Intangible assets; Intellectual capital; Intellectual property; Knowledge; Knowledge economy; Pharmaceuticals; Productivity; Public sector; Public sector accounting; R&D; Recessions; Research & development; Statistical analysis; United Kingdom; Wage & price controls; United Kingdom > UK; United Kingdom; Knowledge economy; Accounting; Public sector accounting; Intangible assets
• ISSN: 1358-1988; 1740-0279
• DOI: 10.1108/13581981011033970

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to review the issues, difficulties, importance for public policy and current initiatives associated with developing a more comprehensive national accounting framework in relation to public and private sector investments in intangible assets.Design methodology approach - The paper analyses and evaluates the most salient statistics on intangible asset investments and the implications for public and private sector policy makers.Findings - The UK economy has a high representation of firms and activities that invest in intangible assets that are not traditionally included in national accounts and that their exclusion has a significant impact on the UK's apparent growth and productivity performance.Originality value - The paper discusses a range of measurement and other difficulties in significantly developing a comprehensive national accounting framework that fully incorporates the impact of intangible asset investments upon national growth and productivity metrics.