In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, co-host Janet Bush talks with Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake. Jonathan Haskel is professor of economics at Imperial College Business School at Imperial College London and an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England. Stian Westlake is chief executive of the Royal Statistical Society in the United Kingdom. Haskel and Westlake talk about their pioneering work on intangible assets: how to define them to reflect their growing role in companies and economies, the benefits and risks, and how to enable a smoother transition to a dematerialized economy with such assets at its core. They answer questions including the following:
● So we really are now in the knowledge and know-how economy. Is this a new era for capitalism?
● Are intangibles good for us?
● How do you tell whether investment in intangibles is smart or dumb?
● Are intangibles a recipe for inequality?
● What needs to be fixed to ease the transition to the intangibles economy?

This conversation was recorded in December 2021. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/HaskelWestlake

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