The best approximation of "constant capital" would depend on whether you were looking for a flow measure of constant capital or a stock measure. For a flow measure I would take depreciation (current cost depreciation of private fixed assets table 2.4 from fixed assets at the BEA website) plus the cost of intermediate goods from the Annual Industry Accounts (also at the BEA web site) which include energy inputs, materials inputs and purchased service inputs. If I were measuring constant capital as a stock I would used fixed assets which you can get at the BEA web site plus inventories from the NIPA tables 5.7a and 5.7b.
Rudy
James Heartfield wrote:
> I am sure that there used to be a heading Business Investment, but I can only find 'Gross private investment'.
>
> Also, I know this is an absurd and quixotic question, but to all those Marxists out there, if you were looking for the best approximation of investment in 'constant capital' in the national statistics, which would it be?
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