R&D Recognized as Investment in U.S. GDP Statistics: GDP Increase Slightly Lowers R&D-to-GDP Ratio

Expenditures for research and development are now capitalized—incorporated as investment—in the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) and other national income and product accounts (NIPAs) produced and published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). R&D investment is presented in the NIPAs in a new asset category called 'intellectual property products,' or intangible assets, along with software and entertainment, literary, and artistic originals. New InfoBrief from the National Center for Scientific and Engineering Statistics details how these changes affect the GDP and the R&D-to-GDP ratio.