Papers

The international guidelines for national economic accounting recommend capitalizing expenditures related to intellectual property products (IPPs) in some cases where U.S. rules for financial accounting require immediate expensing of the same expenditures. This paper outlines the international… Read more

Disease-based medical care expenditure indexes are currently of interest to measurement economists and have been the subject of several recent papers. These papers, however, produced widely different results for medical care inflation and also varied in the datasets and methods used, making… Read more

In 2007, we estimate that US businesses and governments invested $278 billion in software and US artists produced $71 billion worth of long-lived entertainment originals. These copyrighted materials will yield useful services for years to come. Because of their long working life, the… Read more

In 2007, I estimate that playwrights, artists, photographers and designers created miscellaneous artwork worth $3.3 billion. By category, theatrical play scripts were $1.4 billion, greeting card designs were $0.5 billion and commercial stock photography was $1.4 billion. Taken individually, each… Read more

In 2007, I estimate that studios spent $20.0 billion producing original theatrical movies. These movies were shown in theaters in 2008 and will be sold on DVD and broadcast on television for decades to come. Because of their long working life, the international guidelines for national accounts… Read more

In 2007, I estimate that studios and networks released long-lived television programs worth $26.7 billion. Those long-lived television programs were first shown on TV in 2007 and will be broadcast for decades to come. Because of their long working life, the international guidelines for national… Read more

In 2007, I estimate that authors and publishers created original books with a value of $9.1 billion. These books were first sold starting in 2008, and will continue to be sold for decades to come. Because of their long working life, the international guidelines for national accounts recommends… Read more

In 2007, I estimate that musicians and recording studios created original songs, including recorded performances, with an estimated value of $7.8 billion. These songs were sold on CDs in 2008 and will be played on the radio, on television and at live concerts for decades to come. Because of… Read more

U.S. health care expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) reached 17.9 percent in 2011. That share will continue to grow significantly, according to recent studies by the Congressional Budget Office. This trend has raised questions about the sources of this growth, whether the… Read more