The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt for their explanation of innovation-driven economic growth. Mokyr received the prize for identifying the prerequisites for sustainable growth through technological progress, while Aghion and Howitt were honored for their theory of sustainable growth “through creative destruction.”
The laureates’ research demonstrates how new technologies contribute to long-term economic growth. Mokyr used historical sources to uncover the causes of the transition from stagnation to sustainable growth. He demonstrated that continuous innovation requires not only practical knowledge but also a scientific understanding of how technology works.
Aghion and Howitt developed a mathematical model of creative destruction—the process by which new products displace obsolete technologies. This dynamic creates conflicts that must be constructively resolved to prevent innovation from being blocked by established companies and declining interests.
The prize is 11 million Swedish kronor, half of which will go to Mokyr and the other half jointly to Aghion and Howitt.
The 2024 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel has been awarded to American scientists Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson “for their research into how institutions are formed and how they influence well-being.”
