The 2025 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt for their influential research on innovation-driven economic growth. Mokyr received half of the approximately $1.6 million prize for identifying the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress. Aghion and Howitt shared the other half for developing the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction.
Mokyr’s work utilized historical analysis to uncover the factors necessary for continuous technological innovation, emphasizing the importance of scientific understanding and societal openness to new ideas. Aghion and Howitt’s collaborative research introduced a mathematical model illustrating how new and better products replace older ones in a dynamic process of creative destruction, driving economic advancement.
The Nobel Committee highlighted that these laureates have significantly contributed to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying sustained economic growth, underscoring the necessity of fostering innovation and adaptability to prevent economic stagnation.
