Intangible assets — encompassing investments in research and development, software, databases, design, organizational capital, and training, among others — have become central drivers of economic growth, productivity, and competitiveness in modern economies. Yet their measurement remains one of the most significant challenges in economic statistics. Unlike physical capital, only a fraction of intangible assets is captured in standard accounting frameworks, such as the system of national accounts, while the majority remain unrecorded. This gap has direct consequences for our understanding of productivity dynamics, innovation performance, and the sources of income inequality — and therefore for the design of sound economic and innovation policies. Accurate measurement of intangibles is also increasingly important for understanding the economic impact of artificial intelligence: AI systems are themselves the product of substantial intangible investment, and the productivity gains they generate materialize largely through intangible channels such as process innovation, organizational change, and the accumulation of data and knowledge assets.

The need for better data in this area is increasingly recognized by policymakers, researchers, and statistical agencies alike. Initiatives such as the Global INTAN-Invest database, developed and operated through a partnership between WIPO and Luiss Business School, have significantly expanded the cross-country comparability and availability of intangibles data. At the same time, ongoing work within the System of National Accounts (SNA) is seeking to extend the capitalization boundary for intangible assets and to address new measurement challenges arising from the digital economy — most notably the rapid diffusion of AI and other data-driven technologies. Despite this progress, major gaps remain, both in methodological terms and in the coverage of countries, particularly in the developing world.

A dedicated session on measuring intangibles can bring greater visibility to this work, benefiting from a further exchange of best practices and discussing specific measurement challenges, while extending the debate to a truly global audience, also encouraging interest from African and other developing countries in contributing to international data collection efforts. The session will bring together perspectives from academic research, international data initiatives, and national accounts practice, showcasing the latest empirical developments, illustrating concrete policy and research applications, and outlining the collaborative agenda that will guide progress in the years ahead.