Contemporary analysis distinguishes capital goods from other forms of capital such as human capital. Human capital is acquired through education and training, whether formal or on-the-job. A more recent coinage is intellectual capital, used especially as to information technology.

Prior to the Information Age the land, labour, and capital were used to create substantial wealth due to their scarcity. During the Information Age (circa 1971-1991), the Knowledge Age (circa 1991 to 2002), and the Intangible Economy (2002-present) the primary factors of production have become less concrete. These factors of production are knowledge, collaboration, process-engagement, and time quality.

According to economic theory, a "factor of production" is used to create value and economic performance. As the four modern-day factors are all essentially abstract, the current economic age has been called the Intangible Economy. Intangible factors of production are subject to network effects and the contrary economic laws such as the law of increasing returns. It is therefore important to differentiate between conventional (tangible) economics and intangible economics when discussing issues related to factors of production which change according to the economic era that society is experiencing. For example, land was a key factor of production in the Agricultural Age.