--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-45/measuring-capital-and-multifactor-productivity-the-role-of-asset-depreciation-and-initial-capital-stock-estimates/" title: "Measuring Capital and Multifactor Productivity: The Role of Asset Depreciation and Initial Capital Stock Estimates" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T08:15:04+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-17T09:26:47+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2023" ipm_keyword: - "Baret" - "capital measurement" - "cross-country" - "depreciation" - "G7" - "initial capital stock" - "MFP" - "national accounts" - "OECD" - "perpetual inventory method" - "Pionnier" - "Zinni" ipm_research_theme: - "Measurement and methodology" ipm_country_focus: - "G-7" - "International" - "OECD" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Measuring Capital and Multifactor Productivity: The Role of Asset Depreciation and Initial Capital Stock Estimates Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-45/measuring-capital-and-multifactor-productivity-the-role-of-asset-depreciation-and-initial-capital-stock-estimates/ # Measuring Capital and Multifactor Productivity: The Role of Asset Depreciation and Initial Capital Stock Estimates [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-45-6-Pionnier-Zinni-Baret.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Pionnier, Pierre-Alain, Belén Zinni, and Kéa Baret. 2023. “Measuring Capital and Multifactor Productivity: The Role of Asset Depreciation and Initial Capital Stock Estimates.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 45 (Fall 2023): 155–199. https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-45/measuring-capital-and-multifactor-productivity-the-role-of-asset-depreciation-and-initial-capital-stock-estimates/ ## Authors: - Pierre-Alain Pionnier OECD - Belén Zinni OECD - Kéa Baret OECD ## IPM Issue 45 Fall 2023 pp. 155–199 ## Related IPM articles [Is the SNA Still Useful? 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Catherine Mann Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 3–19](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/could-domestic-industrial-policies-even-with-global-fragmentation-revive-productivity/) [Employment, Output and Productivity Adjustment During the Great Recession: The Role of Managerial Quality Gilbert Cette, Jimmy Lopez, Jacques Mairesse, Giuseppe Nicoletti Spring 2024 | IPM Issue 46 | pp. 101–108](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-46/employment-output-and-productivity-adjustment-during-the-great-recession-the-role-of-managerial-quality/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn This paper suggests a meaningful way to compare how the depreciation and retirement of assets are estimated in the national accounts of different countries and shows large differences. Applying the same assumptions in the US as in other G7 countries would reduce the US net capital stock by up to 1/3 and increase US GDP by up to 0.5 per cent. The growth rates of capital services and MFP would be less affected. This paper also considers two commonly used methods to estimate initial capital stocks and the impact they may have on measured capital and MFP. They assume that either investment growth rates or capital-stock-to-output ratios are constant over time. The first one is misleading because it fails to account for trends and fluctuations in real-estate investment. The second one works well for the US but may be less reliable for other countries. Overall, this paper calls for a more frequent review of asset depreciation patterns by statistical agencies, and for extending investment series to the maximum extent before relying on crude methods to estimate initial capital stocks. Cet article propose une façon significative de comparer la façon dont l’amortissement et le retrait des actifs sont estimés dans les comptes nationaux de différents pays, et montre de grandes différences. L’application des mêmes hypothèses aux États-Unis que dans les autres pays du G7 réduirait le stock de capital net américain jusqu’à un tiers et augmenterait le PIB américain jusqu’à 0,5 %. Les taux de croissance des services du capital et de la PMF seraient moins affectés. Cet article examine également deux méthodes couramment utilisées pour estimer les stocks de capital initiaux et l’impact qu’elles peuvent avoir sur le capital mesuré et la PMF. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-45-6-Pionnier-Zinni-Baret.pdf)