Competitiveness and the value of intangible assets

Book abstract:

Intangible assets are of growing importance to corporate competitiveness and economic performance. They include R&D, human capital, innovation in products and in organisation, trademarks and patents, networking and software. This book provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of intangible investment and its effect on public policy in Europe.

The book documents the proceedings of the conference on 'Intangible Assets and the Competitiveness of the European Economy' held in Louvain-la-Neuve April 1999. The authors find that the growing importance of intangibles is transforming the direction of public policies in Europe, particularly industrial, R&D, competition and trade policies. They conclude that government policies must recognise the fact that intangible investment is becoming the key element in bringing about durable growth and therefore need to accord at least the same priority to intangible factors as to physical investment.

The work is essential reading for students interested in this new field of economic analysis, national and international policy makers and industrialists involved in the non-physical economy.

Pierre Buigues is Head of Unit at the European Commission, Alexis Jacquemin is Chief Advisor at the European Commission and Professor of Economics at the Université Catholique de Louvain, and Jean-François Marchipont is Director at the European Commission. The book has a preface by Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission.