Ifo Investment Database: a Tool for Analysing Investment Structures in Germany

Investments play an important role in the economic growth of an economy. Detailed analyses of the investment activity of economic branches therefore provide key insights into economic development trends and make it possible to identify shifts in the importance of economic sectors and capital goods. This type of analysis calls for detailed investment time series according to groups of goods that are not available in many sectors. The Ifo Investment Database closes this gap by providing compact investment matrices using a large number of sources that shed light on the share of individual product groups in the investment of an economic sector. This means that the calculations are in line with the official statistics of the Federal Statistical Office in their aggregates. A unique feature of the Ifo Investment Database is that it also offers a presentation of investment time series according to the owner and user concept. The latter constitutes a useful enhancement of the usual methods of ownership concept, especially with a view to changes in financing questions such as, for example, the wider use of leased capital goods.