Stockholm [Sweden]: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics will be jointly awarded to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt for their work on innovation-driven economic growth.
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel will be split, with one half going to Mokyr “for identifying the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress,” and the other half jointly to Aghion and Howitt “for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction.” The trio’s research demonstrates how new technologies drive long-term economic growth, improving standards of living globally.
The Nobel Prize committee highlighted that over the last two centuries, sustained economic growth has lifted millions out of poverty and fueled prosperity. The laureates’ research shows that innovation is central to continued progress, emphasizing that economic growth cannot be taken for granted and relies on mechanisms of creative destruction, where new products replace old ones, benefiting society while challenging existing companies.
Joel Mokyr, born in 1946 in the Netherlands, is a Professor at Northwestern University, US, and has a PhD from Yale University. He used historical sources to show that for sustained growth, innovations must be accompanied by scientific explanations and societal openness to new ideas—lessons drawn from the Industrial Revolution.
Philippe Aghion, born 1956 in Paris, and Peter Howitt, born 1946 in Canada, developed mathematical models of creative destruction in 1992, analyzing the balance between research and development (R&D) investment and growth. Aghion teaches at Collège de France and INSEAD, Paris, while Howitt is a Professor at Brown University, US.
The total prize of 11 million Swedish kronor will be divided, with half awarded to Mokyr and the other half jointly to Aghion and Howitt.and Howitt.
