Comparisons of Real Values of Capital Input

This paper provides a farm sector comparison of real values of capital input for 17 OECD countries for the period 1973-2011. The starting point for construction of a measure of capital input is the measurement of capital stock. Estimates of depreciable capital input are derived by representing capital stock at each point of time as a weighted sum of past investments. The capital stocks of land are measured as implicit quantities derived from balance sheet data. We convert estimates of capital stock into estimates of capital service flows by means of capital rental prices. Implicit rental prices for each asset are based on the correspondence between the purchase price of the asset and the discounted value of future service flows derived from that asset. Finally, comparisons of relative levels of capital input across countries require data on relative prices of capital input. We obtain relative prices of capital input via relative investment goods prices, taking into account the flow of capital input per unit of capital stock in each country