The New Investment Paradigm?

Abstract

This article in the Economic Insights series summarizes results from current Statistics Canada research on investment and capital stock accumulation. It reports on the study, Intangible Capital and Productivity Growth in Canada. Compiling information on wealth accumulation has been central to Statistics Canada’s activities since its inception. The wealth of the nation is a measure of its financial strength, international standing, and economic power. In 1915, Canada’s first Chief Statistician, Robert H. Coats, compiled Canada’s initial estimate of national wealth at the behest of the Borden Conservatives. He set the value of Canada at $16.3 billion. Since then, the practice of compiling national wealth estimates has continued, with current national balance sheet estimates placing Canada’s 2011 wealth at $6.9 trillion. Over time, the accuracy with which national wealth is estimated has improved, and the scope of assets examined has expanded. This process involved debate about which assets should be included, and how they should be measured.