IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecmode/v75y2018icp246-255.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economic and statistical measurement of physical capital: From theory to practice

Author

Listed:
  • Escribá-Pérez, F.J.
  • Murgui-García, M.J.
  • Ruiz-Tamarit, J.R.

Abstract

The standard measurements of capital and depreciation are statistical measures based on assumptions about the average service life of capital goods, which are accumulated according to the perpetual inventory method. The purpose of this paper is to obtain a true economic measure of capital stock according to the prescriptions of the neoclassical theory. In this way, we develop an alternative method based on the equations that solve the dynamic optimization problem of the firm, yielding an economic estimation based on indicators of profitability, such as the distributed profits and the Tobin's q ratio. Thus, this method enables us to endogenously calculate the variables' rate of depreciation and capital stock. We apply this procedure to the Spanish economy, getting the series of an economic measure of depreciation and the economic value of capital stock. Our results show an economic depreciation rate that fluctuates around the statistical rate. Moreover, we get two time profiles for the economic and statistical capital stocks that differ significantly from each other.

Suggested Citation

  • Escribá-Pérez, F.J. & Murgui-García, M.J. & Ruiz-Tamarit, J.R., 2018. "Economic and statistical measurement of physical capital: From theory to practice," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 246-255.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:75:y:2018:i:c:p:246-255
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econmod.2018.06.023
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264999318302086
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.econmod.2018.06.023?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gustav Feichtinger & Raimund M. Kovacevic & Gernot Tragler (ed.), 2018. "Control Systems and Mathematical Methods in Economics," Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, Springer, number 978-3-319-75169-6, October.
    2. Raouf Boucekkine & Ramón Ruiz-Tamarit, 2003. "Capital Maintenance and Investment: Complements or Substitutes?," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 78(1), pages 1-28, January.
    3. Jakob Brochner Madsen, 2016. "Wealth And Inequality In Eight Centuries Of British Capitalism," Monash Economics Working Papers 20-16, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    4. Malcomson, James M., 1975. "Replacement and the rental value of capital equipment subject to obsolescence," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 24-41, February.
    5. Feldstein, Martin S & Rothschild, Michael, 1974. "Towards an Economic Theory of Replacement Investment," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 42(3), pages 393-423, May.
    6. George Bitros, 2010. "The theorem of proportionality in contemporary capital theory: An assessment of its conceptual foundations," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 23(4), pages 367-401, December.
    7. Harcourt,G. C., 1972. "Some Cambridge Controversies in the Theory of Capital," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521096720, September.
    8. Nickell, Stephen, 1975. "A closer look at replacement investment," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 54-88, February.
    9. Feldstein, Martin S & Foot, David K, 1971. "The Other Half of Gross Investment: Replacement and Modernization Expenditures," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 53(1), pages 49-58, February.
    10. Sarantis Kalyvitis, 2006. "Another look at the linear q model: an empirical analysis of aggregate business capital spending with maintenance expenditures," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(4), pages 1282-1315, November.
    11. Marín-Solano, Jesús & Navas, Jorge, 2009. "Non-constant discounting in finite horizon: The free terminal time case," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 666-675, March.
    12. Martin Neil Baily, 1981. "Productivity and the Services of Capital and Labor," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 12(1), pages 1-66.
    13. Raouf Boucekkine & Blanca Martínez & J. Ramon Ruiz-Tamarit, 2018. "Optimal Population Growth as an Endogenous Discounting Problem: The Ramsey Case," Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, in: Gustav Feichtinger & Raimund M. Kovacevic & Gernot Tragler (ed.), Control Systems and Mathematical Methods in Economics, pages 321-347, Springer.
    14. Le Kama, Alain Ayong & Schubert, Katheline, 2007. "A Note On The Consequences Of An Endogenous Discounting Depending On The Environmental Quality," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(2), pages 272-289, April.
    15. Cowing, Thomas G & Smith, V Kerry, 1977. "A Note on the Variability of the Replacement Investment Capital Stock Ratio," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 59(2), pages 238-243, May.
    16. Raouf Boucekkine & Blanca Martínez & José Ramón Ruiz-Tamarit, 2018. "Optimal Population Growth as an Endogenous Discounting Problem: The Ramsey Case," Post-Print hal-01825912, HAL.
    17. Olivier Blanchard & Changyong Rhee & Lawrence Summers, 1993. "The Stock Market, Profit, and Investment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 108(1), pages 115-136.
    18. Delong J. Bradford, 2008. "Stocks for the Long Run," The Economists' Voice, De Gruyter, vol. 5(7), pages 1-2, November.
    19. Hayashi, Fumio, 1982. "Tobin's Marginal q and Average q: A Neoclassical Interpretation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(1), pages 213-224, January.
    20. Triplett, Jack E, 1996. "Depreciation in Production Analysis and in Income and Wealth Accounts: Resolution of an Old Debate," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 34(1), pages 93-115, January.
    21. Bitros, George C & Kelejian, Harry H, 1974. "On the Variability of the Replacement Investment Capital Stock Ratio: Some Evidence from Capital Scrappage," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 56(3), pages 270-278, August.
    22. Obstfeld, Maurice, 1990. "Intertemporal dependence, impatience, and dynamics," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 45-75, August.
    23. Eisner, Robert, 1972. "Components of Capital Expenditures: Replacement and Modernization Versus Expansion," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 54(3), pages 297-305, August.
    24. Arnold J. Katz, 2015. "A Primer on the Measurement of Net Stocks, Depreciation, Capital Services, and Their Integration," BEA Working Papers 0123, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
    25. Dale W. Jorgenson, 1974. "The Economic Theory of Replacement and Depreciation," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Willy Sellekaerts (ed.), Econometrics and Economic Theory, chapter 10, pages 189-221, Palgrave Macmillan.
    26. Palivos, Theodore & Wang, Ping & Zhang, Jianbo, 1997. "On the Existence of Balanced Growth Equilibrium," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 38(1), pages 205-224, February.
    27. Oulton, Nicholas & Wallis, Gavin, 2016. "Capital stocks and capital services: Integrated and consistent estimates for the United Kingdom, 1950–2013," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 117-125.
    28. Escriba-Perez, F.J. & Ruiz-Tamarit, J.R., 1994. "Economic Measurement of Capital and Profitability," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 1995011, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES), revised 00 Mar 1995.
    29. Sarantis Kalyvitis, 2006. "model: an empirical analysis of aggregate business capital spending with maintenance expenditures," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 39(4), pages 1282-1315, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. N. V. Suvorov & E. A. Rutkovskaya & E. E. Balashova & S. I. Maksimtsova & S. V. Treschina & Yu.V. Beletskii, 2022. "Assessing the Performance of Fixed Assets in the Russian Economy," Studies on Russian Economic Development, Springer, vol. 33(4), pages 367-376, August.
    2. Jakub Boratyński & Jacek Osiewalski, 2021. "Bayesian Estimation of Capital Stock and Depreciation in the Production Function Framework," Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, vol. 13(4), pages 455-486, December.
    3. Hao Yao & Xiulin Gu & Qing Yu, 2023. "Impact of Graduate Student Expansion and Innovative Human Capital on Green Total Factor Productivity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-15, January.
    4. Francisco-Javier Escribá-Pérez & María-José Murgui-García & José-Ramón Ruiz-Tamarit, 2022. "The devil is in the details: Capital stock estimation and aggregate productivity growth—An application to the Spanish economy," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 21(1), pages 31-50, January.
    5. F. J. Escribá-Pérez & M. J. Murgui-García & J. R. Ruiz-Tamarit, 2018. "Economic Resilience and the Dynamics of Capital Stock," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2018017, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    6. F. J. Escribá-Pérez & M. J. Murgui-García & J. R. Ruiz-Tamarit, 2019. "Capital Stock and Depreciation: Theory and an Empirical Application," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2019004, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    7. Sónia Cabral & Cláudia Duarte & José R. Maria, 2023. "Introducing quarterly databases to assess industry-level developments in Portugal and the euro area," Working Papers o202302, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    8. Andrea Caravaggio & Mauro Sodini, 2022. "Local environmental quality and heterogeneity in an OLG agent-based model with spatial externalities," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 17(1), pages 287-317, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. F. J. Escribá-Pérez & M. J. Murgui-García & J. R. Ruiz-Tamarit, 2017. "Economic and Statistical Measurement of Physical Capital with an Application to the Spanish Economy," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2017020, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    2. F. J. Escribá-Pérez & M. J. Murgui-García & J. R. Ruiz-Tamarit, 2019. "Capital Stock and Depreciation: Theory and an Empirical Application," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2019004, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    3. F. J. Escribá‐Pérez & M. J. Murgui‐García & J. R. Ruiz‐Tamarit, 2023. "Endogenous capital stock and depreciation in the United States," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 25(1), pages 139-167, February.
    4. Dimitrios Koumparoulis, 2011. "The Proportionality Hypothesis in Capital Theory: an Assessment of the Literature," EuroEconomica, Danubius University of Galati, issue 27, pages 27-39, February.
    5. Prucha, Ingmar R. & Nadiri, M. Ishaq, 1996. "Endogenous capital utilization and productivity measurement in dynamic factor demand models Theory and an application to the U.S. electrical machinery industry," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 71(1-2), pages 343-379.
    6. George Bitros, 2010. "The theorem of proportionality in contemporary capital theory: An assessment of its conceptual foundations," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 23(4), pages 367-401, December.
    7. Ingmar R. Prucha & M. Ishaq Nadiri, 1991. "Endogenous Capital Utilization and Productivity Measurement in Dynamic Factor Demand Models: Theory and an Application to the U.S. Electrical..," NBER Working Papers 3680, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Boucekkine, R. & Fabbri, G. & Gozzi, F., 2010. "Maintenance and investment: Complements or substitutes? A reappraisal," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 34(12), pages 2420-2439, December.
    9. Levy, Daniel, 1995. "Capital Stock Depreciation, Tax Rules, and Composition of Aggregate Investment," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 21(1), pages 45-65.
    10. Ana González Galán & Juan José García del Hoyo & Félix García Ordaz, 2021. "Investment and Decapitalization in the Fishing Industry: The Case of the Spanish Crustacean Freezer Trawler Fleet," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-22, August.
    11. Raouf Boucekkine & Blanca Martínez & J. Ramon Ruiz-Tamarit, 2018. "Optimal Population Growth as an Endogenous Discounting Problem: The Ramsey Case," Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, in: Gustav Feichtinger & Raimund M. Kovacevic & Gernot Tragler (ed.), Control Systems and Mathematical Methods in Economics, pages 321-347, Springer.
    12. Sarantis Kalyvitis, 2006. "Another look at the linear q model: an empirical analysis of aggregate business capital spending with maintenance expenditures," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(4), pages 1282-1315, November.
    13. Francisco-Javier Escribá-Pérez & María-José Murgui-García & José-Ramón Ruiz-Tamarit, 2022. "The devil is in the details: Capital stock estimation and aggregate productivity growth—An application to the Spanish economy," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 21(1), pages 31-50, January.
    14. Robert J. Gordon & John Veitch, 1986. "Fixed Investment in the American Business Cycle, 1919-83," NBER Chapters, in: The American Business Cycle: Continuity and Change, pages 267-358, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Panagiotidis, Theodore & Printzis, Panagiotis, 2020. "What is the investment loss due to uncertainty?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    16. de la Croix, David & Doepke, Matthias, 2021. "A soul’s view of the optimal population problem," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 98-108.
    17. Schumacher, Ingmar, 2011. "Endogenous discounting and the domain of the felicity function," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(1-2), pages 574-581, January.
    18. Chu, Hsun & Lai, Ching-chong & Liao, Chih-hsing, 2016. "A Note On Environment-Dependent Time Preferences," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(6), pages 1652-1667, September.
    19. Eleni Angelopoulou & Sarantis Kalyvitis, 2012. "Estimating the Euler Equation for Aggregate Investment with Endogenous Capital Depreciation," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 78(3), pages 1057-1078, January.
    20. Dale W. Jorgenson, 1991. "Productivity and Economic Growth," NBER Chapters, in: Fifty Years of Economic Measurement: The Jubilee of the Conference on Research in Income and Wealth, pages 19-118, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Capital; Depreciation; Maintenance; Profitability; Tobin's q;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C61 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Optimization Techniques; Programming Models; Dynamic Analysis
    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:75:y:2018:i:c:p:246-255. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/30411 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.