Economics Nobel 2025

In a time of tariffs and global disturbances, this year’s Nobel award came as a blessing in disguise. The prize was announced on 13th October 2025. The three awarded economists are Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt. The award recognized their work on innovation in economic growth. Mokyr’s main contribution was identifying the prerequisites for sustained growth via technological progress. Howitt and Aghion worked together on the “theory of sustained growth through creative destruction.”

Joel Mokyr was born in Leiden, Netherlands, on July 26th, 1946. He received his bachelor’s in economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1968. He completed his doctorate in 1974 for his work “Industrial Growth and Stagnation in the Low Countries, 1800–1850.” Mokyr continued his teaching career as an instructor at Yale between 1973–74. Afterward, he became an assistant professor at Northwestern University in 1974 and has remained there since. He has held many prestigious positions, including editor of the “Journal of Economic History” from 1994 to 1998. His book, “A Culture of Growth” (2016), received positive reviews. Though it focused on the Industrial Revolution, critics recognized it as a well-analyzed work.

Peter Howitt was born on May 31st, 1946, in Canada. He obtained his Bachelor’s in Economics from McGill University and, Master’s from the University of Western Ontario. His doctoral degree was obtained from Northwestern University in 1973. He has authored a book on Endogenous growth theory, which was published in 1998.

Philippe Aghion was born on August 17th, 1976, in Paris, France. He graduated from the Mathematics program at ENS Cachan. He obtained a doctorate from the University of Paris. In 1987, he received his doctoral degree from Harvard University. His career began as a professor at MIT in 1987. Later, he became Deputy Economist at the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. In early 2002, he returned to Harvard as a professor and worked there until 2015. He is an active member of the American Arts and Sciences. Since 2018, he has been the editor of the Annual Review of Economics. He was also president of the European Economic Association in 2017.

A well-deserved win by the Economists for 2025.