The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2025 to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt “for having explained innovation-driven economic growth” with one half of the prize to Joel Mokyr (of Northwestern University and Tel Aviv University), and the other half jointly to Philippe Aghion (of INSEAD and The LSE) and Peter Howitt (of Brown University) “for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction”.
They have shown how new technology can drive sustained growth. Over the last two centuries sustained growth has lifted vast numbers of people out of poverty and laid the foundation of prosperity. This year’s laureates in economic sciences have explained how innovation provides the impetus for further progress.
“The laureates’ work shows that economic growth cannot be taken for granted. We must uphold the mechanisms that underly creative destruction, so that we do not fall back into stagnation,” said John Hassler, Chair of the Committee for the prize in economic sciences.