This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Notes
Including an early one by Tyler Cowen: https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2017/09/intangible-investment-monopoly-profits.html.
This is a string on which I have harped quite a long time! Human capital is necessarily tied to the human being and therefore not for sale—that much is obvious. However, any experience, whether artistic or commercial, increases human capital so that the ‘owner’ benefits and may also pass on her experience. Human capital can be transformed into a tradeable asset independent of the creator if embodied in a patent or copyright.
Joint winners were Diane Coyle and Benjamin Mitra-Kahn. Both essays are available on http://global-perspectives.org.uk/indigo-prize/indigo-prize-winners-2017/h. In their winning essay, Haskel and Westlake identify two major challenges: frequently changing technological features that improve quality and the presence of free goods. They also discuss including measures of other non-traded goods, such as well-being and security. Coyle and Mitra-Kahn suggest a balance sheet approach that measures access to the mixture of physical assets, natural capital, human capital, intellectual property, social and institutional capital and net financial capital—key elements of economic welfare for which prices are not an indicator.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Towse, R. Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake: Capitalism without capital: the rise of the intangible economy. J Cult Econ 44, 347–350 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-020-09384-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-020-09384-2