87. Recent Decline in US Intellectual Property Investments

Total US investments in plant and equipment has declined, with a shift from business to residential investments.  At the same time the intellectual property investments, as a share of business investments has also declined, as shown in the following chart:

Conclusions: Intellectual property (IP) is ultimately the originator of economic growth. That does not bode well, because we can observe its current decline.

Sources: https://bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm?ReqID=9&step=1#reqid=9&step=3&isuri=1&904=1999&903=139&906=q&905=2015&910=x&911=0