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Infrastructural capital
 
 
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Infrastructural capital
Capital (economics)

In economics, capital or capital goods or real capital refers to factors of production used to create goods or services that are not themselves significantly consumed in the production process....
 refers to any physical means of production
Means of production

Means of production , include machines, tools, plant and equipment, infrastructure, and so on: "all those things with the aid of which man acts upon the subject of labor, and transforms it." ....
 or means of protection
Means of protection

A means of protection is some contract or guarantee of security for body or property. It is usually achieved, in a modern state society, by agreeing to some social contract including a monopoly on violence, e.g....
 beyond that which can be gathered or found directly in nature, i.e. beyond natural capital
Natural capital

Natural capital is the extension of the economic notion of capital to environmental goods and services. Natural capital is thus the stock of natural ecosystems that yields a flow of valuable ecosystem goods or services into the future....
 and that which is not considered as "fluid capital". It may include tools, clothing, shelter, irrigation systems, dams, roads, boats, ports, factories or any physical improvements made to nature. This term can overlap with the notion of internal improvements and public works
Public works

Public works are the construction or engineering projects carried out by the state on behalf of the community....
.

In macro-economics the term "infrastructure
Infrastructure

Infrastructure can be defined as the basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise , or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function....
" usually refers to the added-value of a nation-state relative to the raw natural capital
Natural capital

Natural capital is the extension of the economic notion of capital to environmental goods and services. Natural capital is thus the stock of natural ecosystems that yields a flow of valuable ecosystem goods or services into the future....
 of its ecoregions, e.g.






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Infrastructural capital
Capital (economics)

In economics, capital or capital goods or real capital refers to factors of production used to create goods or services that are not themselves significantly consumed in the production process....
 refers to any physical means of production
Means of production

Means of production , include machines, tools, plant and equipment, infrastructure, and so on: "all those things with the aid of which man acts upon the subject of labor, and transforms it." ....
 or means of protection
Means of protection

A means of protection is some contract or guarantee of security for body or property. It is usually achieved, in a modern state society, by agreeing to some social contract including a monopoly on violence, e.g....
 beyond that which can be gathered or found directly in nature, i.e. beyond natural capital
Natural capital

Natural capital is the extension of the economic notion of capital to environmental goods and services. Natural capital is thus the stock of natural ecosystems that yields a flow of valuable ecosystem goods or services into the future....
 and that which is not considered as "fluid capital". It may include tools, clothing, shelter, irrigation systems, dams, roads, boats, ports, factories or any physical improvements made to nature. This term can overlap with the notion of internal improvements and public works
Public works

Public works are the construction or engineering projects carried out by the state on behalf of the community....
.

In macro-economics the term "infrastructure
Infrastructure

Infrastructure can be defined as the basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise , or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function....
" usually refers to the added-value of a nation-state relative to the raw natural capital
Natural capital

Natural capital is the extension of the economic notion of capital to environmental goods and services. Natural capital is thus the stock of natural ecosystems that yields a flow of valuable ecosystem goods or services into the future....
 of its ecoregions, e.g. dams, roads, ports, canals, sewers, border posts, etc. - although it can also be used to describe firm-specific infrastructure
Firm-specific infrastructure

In macro-economics the term infrastructure usually refers to public infrastructure. That is, that which provides or supports state services. There is also firm-specific infrastructure such as factories, private roads, capital equipment, and other infrastructural capital capital assets under private ownership....
 such as factories, private roads, capital equipment, and other such assets.

The more generic term physical capital
Physical capital

In general physical capital refers to any non-human asset made by humans and then used in production. Often, it refers to capital in some ambiguous combination of infrastructural capital and natural capital....
 is sometimes used to refer to any combination of either infrastructural capital and natural capital
Natural capital

Natural capital is the extension of the economic notion of capital to environmental goods and services. Natural capital is thus the stock of natural ecosystems that yields a flow of valuable ecosystem goods or services into the future....
 -- recognizing that often an infrastructural improvement, e.g. a dam or road, becomes impossible to differentiate from the natural ecology within which it is embedded. Although it is confusing to consider personal property
Personal property

Personal property is a type of property. In the common law systems personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. It is distinguished from real property, or real estate....
 carried on the individual human body part of an "infrastructure", it is also contrary to refer to joint products of nature and man as being "manufactured" or "built" rather than as being "grown" or "developed", e.g. vines or other plants which grow on a manmade trellis. As both infrastructural and natural capital serve as means of production
Means of production

Means of production , include machines, tools, plant and equipment, infrastructure, and so on: "all those things with the aid of which man acts upon the subject of labor, and transforms it." ....
 and means of protection
Means of protection

A means of protection is some contract or guarantee of security for body or property. It is usually achieved, in a modern state society, by agreeing to some social contract including a monopoly on violence, e.g....
 from the elements, macro-economists rarely differentiate the two in their analysis.

However, from a public policy point of view, infrastructural capital is prone to more obvious and significant breakdowns and is usually a cost center.

See also

  • Infrastructure
    Infrastructure

    Infrastructure can be defined as the basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise , or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function....
  • Five Capitals
    Five Capitals

    The Five Capitals Model of sustainable development was developed by the organization Forum for the Future. The model groups together:* Natural capital...