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.
Product Details
ISBN-13: 9780691183299
Media Type: Paperback
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication Date: 10-16-2018
Pages: 296
Product Dimensions: 5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)
About the Author
Jonathan Haskel is professor of economics at Imperial College Business School. Stian Westlake is advisor to the UK Minister of Science and Innovation. Haskel and Westlake were cowinners of the 2017 Indigo Prize.
What People are Saying
What People are Saying About This
From the Publisher
"The portion of the world's economy that doesn't fit the old model just keeps getting larger. That has major implications for everything from tax law to economic policy to which cities thrive and which cities fall behind, but in general, the rules that govern the economy haven’t kept up. This is one of the biggest trends in the global economy that isn’t getting enough attention. If you want to understand why this matters, the brilliant new book Capitalism Without Capital by Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake is about a good an explanation as I’ve seen."—Bill Gates
“Compelling…. Haskel and Westlake have mapped the economics of a challenging new economy.”—Martin Wolf, Financial Times
“One of this year’s most important and stimulating economic reads…. Read this book.”—Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution
“For an introduction … it would be hard to do better than Capitalism without Capital, which is clear and lively and raises—without having all the answers—the relevant questions.”—Diane Coyle, Enlightened Economist
“The book makes its case in a lighthearted, conversational way that will appeal to economists and non-economists alike.”—The Economist
“One of the year’s most talked-about books.”—John Harris, The Guardian
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
1 Introduction 1
Part I The Rise of the Intangible Economy
2 Capital’s Vanishing Act 15
3 How to Measure Intangible Investment 36
4 What’s Different about Intangible Investment? The Four S’s of Intangibles 58
Part II The Consequences of the Rise of the Intangible Economy
5 Intangibles, Investment, Productivity, and Secular Stagnation 91
6 Intangibles and the Rise of Inequality 118
7 Infrastructure for Intangibles, and Intangible Infrastructure 144
8 The Challenge of Financing an Intangible Economy 158
9 Competing, Managing, and Investing in the Intangible Economy 182
10 Public Policy in an Intangible Economy: Five Hard Questions 208