Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, And Peter Howitt Win 2025 Nobel In Economics For Work On Innovation-Driven Growth

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Monday (13 October) awarded the 2025 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt for their pioneering work explaining how innovation fuels long-term economic growth, reported The Times Of India.

Mokyr, from Northwestern University, received half of the prize “for having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress.”

Aghion, affiliated with the Collège de France and the London School of Economics, and Howitt, from Brown University, shared the other half “for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction.”

According to the Nobel Committee, the laureates’ research illuminates how innovation sustains prosperity and prevents economies from slipping back into stagnation—a condition that dominated much of human history.

Their work warns that growth cannot be taken for granted and identifies threats such as monopolies, limits on academic freedom, and social barriers that can hinder progress.

Aghion and Howitt developed a mathematical model of “creative destruction,” showing how new innovations displace outdated technologies and firms, promoting economic dynamism.

Mokyr’s historical analysis revealed that societies thrive when they maintain a steady flow of both theoretical and practical knowledge and remain open to new ideas.

Reacting to the announcement, Aghion said he was shocked by the honour, adding that he would reinvest his prize money into his research lab. He also criticised rising protectionism, saying, “I am not welcoming the protectionist way in the US. That is not good for ... world growth and innovation.”

The award, established in 1968 by Sweden’s central bank, concludes the 2025 Nobel season and will be formally presented in Stockholm on 10 December, Alfred Nobel’s death anniversary.

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