Nobel Prize in Economics Awarded to Three Researchers for Explaining Innovation-Led Growth

Nobel Prize in Economics Awarded to Three Researchers for Work on Innovation-Driven Growth.

Philippe Aghion, Peter Howitt, and Joel Mokyr have been awarded the 2025 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for their research on innovation-driven economic growth, particularly the concept of creative destruction — where new technologies and businesses replace outdated ones.

The laureates bring complementary perspectives. Mokyr, 79, an economic historian at Northwestern University, traced long-term economic trends using historical data. Aghion, 69, of the Collège de France and the London School of Economics, and Howitt, 79, of Brown University, applied mathematical models to explain the mechanisms behind sustained economic growth.

Aghion said he was “shocked” by the honor and plans to invest his prize money in his research laboratory. On trade wars and protectionism, he added: “I am not welcoming the protectionist way in the US. That is not good for world growth and innovation.”

The Nobel Committee highlighted that Mokyr demonstrated how innovations succeed in a self-generating process and that scientific understanding is essential to explain their impact. Aghion and Howitt’s work, including their 1992 model of creative destruction, quantified the processes that sustain economic growth over time.

Aghion has also influenced policy, advising French President Emmanuel Macron in 2017 and co-chairing the 2024 Artificial Intelligence Commission, which issued recommendations to strengthen France’s AI capabilities.

John Hassler, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Economic Sciences, said: “The laureates’ work shows that economic growth cannot be taken for granted. We must uphold the mechanisms that underlie creative destruction to avoid stagnation.”

The prize carries 11 million Swedish kronor (nearly $1.2 million), a gold medal, and a diploma. Mokyr receives half, while Aghion and Howitt share the other half. The award, established in 1968, is presented alongside the original Nobel Prizes on Dec. 10.