| Definitions and data sources Capital stocks are reproducible tangible assets that are used as factors of economic production in combination with other factor inputs such as labour, energy and other natural resources or materials. The stock of capital consists of building construction (such as plants and offices), engineering construction (such as dams) and machinery and equipment used in the production process. They are distinguished from non-reproducible assets such as land, mineral deposits and natural resources, which are not produced but are directly incorporated in the production of other commodities. Investment data measure the additions to capital stock during a particular period. The investment data are provided by the Capital and Repair Expenditures Survey, which collects a wealth of detail on capital expenditures. Respondents are asked to report their expenditures on over 50 types of machinery and equipment assets and over 90 types of construction assets. The gross capital stock is the cumulated total of all investments made on a specific asset. Every single investment has an estimated useful life and depreciation rate which are taken into account to (1) discard the investment when it is no longer considered useful and to (2) compute the value of the stock at the end of a given period, net of depreciation to arrive at an estimate of the net capital stock. Infrastructure statistics are derived primarily from Investment and Capital Stock Division's Capital and Repair Expenditures Survey. The average age of capital stock is compiled by the National Wealth and Capital Stock Section of the Investment and Capital Stock Division. For more information on data sources, methodology and derived variables, please see Private and Public Investment in Canada, Revised Intentions, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 61-206-XIB2003000. |