Measuring Intellectual Capital of National Economies

The importance of intellectual capital for creating and sustaining competitive advantage of firms has been well established and confirmed in theory and practice. Intellectual resources proved to be the most valuable resources in the process of value creation for various stakeholders. Starting from 1980s onwards, both researchers and practitioners have focused on finding the best solution for measuring intellectual capital in order to enable efficient management and reporting on intellectual capital. Soon after that, their attention switched from an organisational level to the level of cities, regions and national economies. The intellectual capital of a nation has become the most important driver of national wealth. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to examine the concept of national intellectual capital, as well as various measurement methodologies available for valuing the intangible resources of nations. Critical assessment of presented methodologies will give an overview to the policy makers how to identify and value the national intellectual capital in order to increase their national wealth and improve the well-being of their citizens.