Investment in intangible assets in the euro area

This box reviews the characteristics of intangible assets and looks at a number of implications of their increasing importance. It finds that investment in intangible assets has increased in importance in the euro area, both in absolute terms and relative to tangible assets. Investment in intangibles enables productivity gains and can explain part of the gap between firms’ investment in tangible assets and Tobin’s Q. At the same time, the specific nature of intangible assets poses challenges as regards the measurement of activity, profits and capital stock, as well as making it less easy to use those assets as collateral. JEL Classification: D25, E22