Estimating Capital Inputs for Productivity Measurement: An Overview of U.S. Concepts and Methods

Summary The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes measures of multifactor productivity, which are patterned after the Solow residual. Inputs of capital must be aggregated with inputs of labor. The theory requires a measure of the capital service flow, a rather abstract notion which is rarely observable. The BLS procedures for capital measurement are summarized, and the rationale for these procedures is explored. Implicit measures of capital services are derived from data on property income and data on historical investments which are detailed as to type of asset. Resume Le Bureau of Statistics des Etats-Unis(BLS) publie des masures de productivite totale des facteurs, qui sont derivecs du residu de fonctions de production de Solow. Ceci revient a agreger les intrants de capital et ceux de travail. La theorie requiert la mesure du flux de service rendu par le capital, une notion plutoot abstraite qui est rarement observable. Cet article indique de facon resumee les procedures de mesure du capital utilisees par le BLS et en examine la logique. Des mesures impplicites du service du capital sont deduites de donnees sur les revenus de la propriete et donnees chronologiques sur les investissements, detailles par de biens.

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