Stockholm: Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt On Monday, October 13, won the 2025 Nobel economics prize in economic sciences. As per the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the three economists got the award for "having explained innovation-driven economic growth."
The award is known as 'The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences'. As per the Nobel Academy, one half of the coveted prize went to Mokyr "for having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress", the other half was awarded jointly to Aghion and Howitt "for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction", said the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
"Over the last two centuries, for the first time in history, the world has seen sustained economic growth. This has lifted vast numbers of people out of poverty and laid the foundation of our prosperity. This year's laureates in the Economic Sciences, Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt, explain how innovation provides the impetus for further progress," said the Nobel Academy in a statement
As per the committee, Mokyr used historical sources as one means to uncover the causes of sustained growth becoming the new normal.
"He demonstrated that if innovations are to succeed one another in a self-generating process, we not only need to know that something works, but we also need to have scientific explanations for why. The latter was often lacking prior to the industrial revolution, which made it difficult to build upon new discoveries and inventions. He also emphasised the importance of society being open to new ideas and allowing change," it added.
Meanwhile, Aghion and Howitt also studied the mechanisms behind sustained growth. "In an article from 1992, they constructed a mathematical model for what is called creative destruction: when a new and better product enters the market, the companies selling the older products lose out. The innovation represents something new and is thus creative. However, it is also destructive, as the company whose technology becomes passé is outcompeted," the Academy stated.
About the Nobel Laureates:
Joel Mokyr: Born 1946 in Leiden, the Netherlands, he completed his PhD in 1974 from Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. He is currently serving a professor at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
Philippe Aghion: Born 1956 in Paris, France. he completed his PhD in 1987 from Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. He is currently working as a Professor at Collège de France and INSEAD, Paris, France and The London School of Economics and Political Science, UK.
Peter Howitt: Born 1946 in Canada. Howitt completed his PhD in 1973 from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. H eis currently serving as a professor at Brown University, Providence RI, USA.
