Summary of Jonathan Haskel & Stian Westlake's Capitalism without Capital

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The change in investment is not primarily about information technology. It is about the rise of intangible investment, in ideas, knowledge, aesthetic content, software, brands, and networks and relationships.

#2 Gyms are a great example of how the intangible economy is changing the way businesses operate. In 2017, a gym’s assets can be touched and seen, while in 1977, many of the business’s assets could not be touched.

#3 The gym also has a second business, Bodypump, which is a type of exercise called high-intensity interval training. It is designed and owned by the company that runs the gym, Les Mills International. They have 130,000 instructors worldwide who teach their programs.

#4 The gym industry has changed in two different ways. The part that looks similar to how it did in the 1970s has become infused with systems, processes, relationships, and software. This is not so much innovation, but innervation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822507692

IRB Media

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Insights on Jonathan Haskel & Stian Westlake's Capitalism without Capital

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The change in investment is not primarily about information technology. It is about the rise of intangible investment, in ideas, knowledge, aesthetic content, software, brands, and networks and relationships.

#2

Gyms are a great example of how the intangible economy is changing the way businesses operate. In 2017, a gym’s assets can be touched and seen, while in 1977, many of the business’s assets could not be touched.

#3

The gym also has a second business, Bodypump, which is a type of exercise called high-intensity interval training. It is designed and owned by the company that runs the gym, Les Mills International. They have 130,000 instructors worldwide who teach their programs.

#4

The gym industry has changed in two different ways. The part that looks similar to how it did in the 1970s has become infused with systems, processes, relationships, and software. This is not so much innovation, but innervation.

#5

The terms investment, assets, and capital are used in a confusing variety of ways. To better understand these terms, it will be helpful to establish definitions for them.

#6

When economists talk about investment, they are not talking about buying or selling pieces of paper on a stock market, or households paying university tuition. Rather, they are talking about spending by business, government, or the third sector that creates a fixed asset, which is a nonfinancial resource that produces a long-lived stream of productive services.

#7

Intangible investments are those that arise from a process of production and provide a benefit over time. They can be found throughout the economy, and they are not physical. They are examples of intangible assets.

#8

The story of how intangible investment expanded in the gym business is not unusual. Supermarkets, fast-growing tech companies, and many other businesses are intangible-intensive because software and data are intangibles.

#9

The balance between intangible and tangible investment has shifted over time in many countries. In the early years, even in the most developed countries, intangible investment was a side show. Intangible investment steadily increased, while tangible investment grew slower and in some cases decreased.

#10

There are large differences in intangible investment between countries. The Mediterranean countries, Nordics, and United States