Overview

• Joel Mokyr receives half of the prize, while Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt share the other half, according to the Academy’s announcement in Stockholm.
• Mokyr, a US–Israeli economic historian at Northwestern University, was recognized for using historical evidence to identify the preconditions for sustained growth through technological progress.
• Aghion of the London School of Economics and Howitt of Brown University were honored for research on innovation and the process of “creative destruction” in modern economies.
• Hans Ellegren, the Academy’s secretary general, said the award focuses on creation and destruction and credited the trio with explaining innovation-driven growth.
• The laureates will be formally honored on December 10, with the Economics prize endowed at 11 million Swedish kronor per category and established by Sweden’s central bank in the late 1960s.