Spain | Investment in intangible assets: an analysis based on transactional data

Summary

Investment in intangible assets is a key driver of economic growth in Spain. Using financial transaction data, we build a real-time indicator aligned with official statistics that allows for detailed analysis of investment flows across sectors and regions. They show growth is concentrated in a few specialized hubs.

Key points

• Key points:
• This study presents an innovative use case: using natural recurring invoice-payment data through bank accounts to estimate and analyze sales and purchase flows between firms.
• Intangible assets drive economic growth by boosting productivity, enhancing the outlook for firms that prioritize this type of investment, and helping narrow the growth gap between Spain and the euro area.
• Bank transaction data, consistent with INE figures at aggregate levels, reveal that firms in IT services, architecture, and engineering lead intangible-related activity.
• The granularity of the data enables mapping of investment flows by sector and region, uncovering strong sectoral specialization. Four asset-sector combinations account for over half of total intangible growth, including R&D directed to firms within the same sector.
• Four regions—Madrid, Catalonia, the Basque Country and the Valencian Community—account for over 70% of innovation spending in Spain. Along with Andalusia, they also lead in intangible production.

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