Source
Source Contact person/organisation Contact person/organisationIn this dataset, almost all OECD countries compile their data according to 2008 System of National Account (SNA).
The link to the file "ANA_changes.xls" is available for users to provide more information on where OECD countries and non member countries stand regarding the change over the 2008 SNA.
The readers' guide gives general information on the dataset and withheld criteria for this dataset.
Data Characteristics Data Characteristics Other data characteristics Other data characteristicsInvestment, or to be more precise, gross fixed capital formation, is an essential variable in economic analyses, such as analyses of demand and productivity. The main conceptual changes in the 2008 SNA relates to the delineation of what is considered as investment in the national accounts. According to the 2008 SNA, research and development (R&D) and military weapons systems are now recorded as GFCF. This is in recognition that these expenditures provide long lasting services to the businesses, non-profit institutions, and governments who use them. Thus, GFCF will increase by the amount of R&D and military weapons systems expenditures in the year that they are acquired.
Concepts & Classifications Concepts & Classifications Key statistical concept Key statistical conceptDefinition
Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) is defined in the national accounts as acquisition less disposals of produced fixed assets, i.e. assets intended for use in the production of other goods and services for a period of more than a year. Acquisition includes both purchases of assets (new or second-hand) and the construction of assets by producers for their own use. The 2008 SNA asset boundary has been widen to include R&D and weapons systems.
The term produced assets signifies that only those assets produced as a result of a production process recognised in the national accounts are included. The national accounts also record transactions in non-produced assets such as land, oil and mineral reserves for example; which are recorded separately as purchases of non-produced assets and not as GFCF.
Acquisition prices of capital goods include transport and installation charges, as well as all specific taxes associated with purchase.
Other manipulations Other manipulationsGFCF can be broken down into particular asset groups. Following the change to 2008 SNA, new categories have been implemented. The datasets show 6 groups: dwellings (excluding land); other buildings and structures (roads, bridges, airfields, dams, etc.); transport equipment (ships, trains, aircraft, etc.); other machinery and equipment (ICT equipment, office machinery and hardware, as well as weapons systems etc.); cultivated assets (managed forests, livestock raised for milk production, etc.) and intellectual property products (intangible fixed assets such as R&D, mineral exploration, software and databases, and literary and artistic originals, etc.).
An additional important grouping of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products consists of three components: office machinery and hardware (computers and related hardware); radio, TV and communication (mainly communications equipment); and computer software including databases. It is important to note that ICT embodied in non ICT assets is not included in this concept.
GFCF can also be broken down into institutional sectors. For government this typically means investment in R&D, military weapons systems, transport infrastructure and public buildings such as schools and hospitals. Under the 1993 SNA military expenditures on fixed assets were treated as GFCF only if they could be used for civilian purposes of production (e.g., airfields, docks, roads etc.). The 2008 SNA treats all military expenditures on fixed assets as GFCF regardless of the purpose. It should also be noted that GFCF of corporations and the NPISH sectors are increased by expenditures on R&D.
For households, GFCF generally equates to dwellings, although investments made by unincorporated enterprises in other products also occur.
Other Aspects Other Aspects Recommended uses and limitations Recommended uses and limitationsComparability
When the System of National Accounts (SNA) was revised in 2008, the scope of GFCF was widened to include research and development and military weapons systems. The method of R&D valuation can be difficult to apply (in theory it should be the value of discounted benefits a corporation gets in return for their R&D investments) and more particularly as R&D is produced on own- account. Instead, the sum of cost approach (with an appropriate mark-up if the producer is a market producer) is often recommended for valuation of output, which enhances comparability among countries.
In making comparisons of GFCF by institutional sector, attention should be given to the mechanisms commonly used to "acquire" assets. For example a unit may prefer to rent an asset, which will not count as GFCF of the lessee. If however the agreement between the lessee and the lessor resembles a finance lease, the SNA treats the lessee as having acquired the asset. On a larger scale many governments are increasingly turning to private finance initiatives to create public infrastructure. Determining who the owner of these schemes is in an SNA sense is non-trivial and may cause problems for temporal and international comparability.
"Dwellings" includes "Other buildings and structures" for Chile, Norway, Portugal and Turkey. It also includes "Cultivated assets" for Chile. "Cultivated assets" are not capitalised for Canada and USA. "Transport equipment" is included in "Other machinery and equipment" for Australia, Chile and Turkey. "Ownership transfer costs" are included in the total assets but not in the breakdown for Australia and South Africa. The United Kingdom, has improved its valuation of artistic originals, based on the sum of costs approach. For the record, Australia includes weapons systems in "Other machinery and equipment", the United States includes them in "transport equipment" (missiles, tanks, etc.) and "other machinery equipment" (electronic and other equipment).
Dataset P51S13SP51 - Gross fixed capital formation by institutional sector: for China, data for General Government include NPISHs.
In this dataset, almost all OECD countries compile their data according to 2008 System of National Account (SNA).
The link to the file "ANA_changes.xls" is available for users to provide more information on where OECD countries and non member countries stand regarding the change over the 2008 SNA.
The readers' guide gives general information on the dataset and withheld criteria for this dataset.
Investment, or to be more precise, gross fixed capital formation, is an essential variable in economic analyses, such as analyses of demand and productivity. The main conceptual changes in the 2008 SNA relates to the delineation of what is considered as investment in the national accounts. According to the 2008 SNA, research and development (R&D) and military weapons systems are now recorded as GFCF. This is in recognition that these expenditures provide long lasting services to the businesses, non-profit institutions, and governments who use them. Thus, GFCF will increase by the amount of R&D and military weapons systems expenditures in the year that they are acquired.
Definition
Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) is defined in the national accounts as acquisition less disposals of produced fixed assets, i.e. assets intended for use in the production of other goods and services for a period of more than a year. Acquisition includes both purchases of assets (new or second-hand) and the construction of assets by producers for their own use. The 2008 SNA asset boundary has been widen to include R&D and weapons systems.
The term produced assets signifies that only those assets produced as a result of a production process recognised in the national accounts are included. The national accounts also record transactions in non-produced assets such as land, oil and mineral reserves for example; which are recorded separately as purchases of non-produced assets and not as GFCF.
Acquisition prices of capital goods include transport and installation charges, as well as all specific taxes associated with purchase.
GFCF can be broken down into particular asset groups. Following the change to 2008 SNA, new categories have been implemented. The datasets show 6 groups: dwellings (excluding land); other buildings and structures (roads, bridges, airfields, dams, etc.); transport equipment (ships, trains, aircraft, etc.); other machinery and equipment (ICT equipment, office machinery and hardware, as well as weapons systems etc.); cultivated assets (managed forests, livestock raised for milk production, etc.) and intellectual property products (intangible fixed assets such as R&D, mineral exploration, software and databases, and literary and artistic originals, etc.).
An additional important grouping of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products consists of three components: office machinery and hardware (computers and related hardware); radio, TV and communication (mainly communications equipment); and computer software including databases. It is important to note that ICT embodied in non ICT assets is not included in this concept.
GFCF can also be broken down into institutional sectors. For government this typically means investment in R&D, military weapons systems, transport infrastructure and public buildings such as schools and hospitals. Under the 1993 SNA military expenditures on fixed assets were treated as GFCF only if they could be used for civilian purposes of production (e.g., airfields, docks, roads etc.). The 2008 SNA treats all military expenditures on fixed assets as GFCF regardless of the purpose. It should also be noted that GFCF of corporations and the NPISH sectors are increased by expenditures on R&D.
For households, GFCF generally equates to dwellings, although investments made by unincorporated enterprises in other products also occur.
Comparability
When the System of National Accounts (SNA) was revised in 2008, the scope of GFCF was widened to include research and development and military weapons systems. The method of R&D valuation can be difficult to apply (in theory it should be the value of discounted benefits a corporation gets in return for their R&D investments) and more particularly as R&D is produced on own- account. Instead, the sum of cost approach (with an appropriate mark-up if the producer is a market producer) is often recommended for valuation of output, which enhances comparability among countries.
In making comparisons of GFCF by institutional sector, attention should be given to the mechanisms commonly used to "acquire" assets. For example a unit may prefer to rent an asset, which will not count as GFCF of the lessee. If however the agreement between the lessee and the lessor resembles a finance lease, the SNA treats the lessee as having acquired the asset. On a larger scale many governments are increasingly turning to private finance initiatives to create public infrastructure. Determining who the owner of these schemes is in an SNA sense is non-trivial and may cause problems for temporal and international comparability.
"Dwellings" includes "Other buildings and structures" for Chile, Norway, Portugal and Turkey. It also includes "Cultivated assets" for Chile. "Cultivated assets" are not capitalised for Canada and USA. "Transport equipment" is included in "Other machinery and equipment" for Australia, Chile and Turkey. "Ownership transfer costs" are included in the total assets but not in the breakdown for Australia and South Africa. The United Kingdom, has improved its valuation of artistic originals, based on the sum of costs approach. For the record, Australia includes weapons systems in "Other machinery and equipment", the United States includes them in "transport equipment" (missiles, tanks, etc.) and "other machinery equipment" (electronic and other equipment).
Dataset P51S13SP51 - Gross fixed capital formation by institutional sector: for China, data for General Government include NPISHs.