Intangible Capital as a Production Factor. Firm-level Evidence from Austrian Microdata
WIFO Working Papers, 2023, (660), 37 pages
Study by: Austrian Institute of Economic Research – Statistics Netherlands – Istituto Nazionale di Statistica – Lunaria Associazione di Promozione Sociale e Impresa Sociale – United Nations University – Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology – Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques – Scuola superiore Sant'Anna – Statistics Austria – University College London – University of Ljubljana – University of Tartu – Catholic University of Leuven – Centre for European Economic Research – University of Bielefeld
Commissioned by: European Commission, Framework Programme
We examine the role of intangible capital as a production factor using Austrian firm-level register data. Descriptive statistics
show that intangible investment has increased over time. The intensive and extensive margins of firms' investments are highly
skewed. They differ across sectors. A series of sample splits show that the components of intangible capital play different
roles as inputs in the production function. Software and especially licenses are important for SMEs and exporters. Research
and development play an important role in production in all specifications. For firms that continuously invest in intangible
capital, all components of intangible capital gain importance in the production functions. These patterns differ from those
found in previous studies and have implications for the strategic orientation of industrial and innovation policy.
Keywords:Intangible capital, R&D, Firm level productivity, Investment, Production function, Austria
Research group:Industrial, Innovation and International Economics
