Overview
- Half the prize goes to Joel Mokyr for identifying the historical conditions that made continuous technological progress self-sustaining, with emphasis on scientific explanation and cultural openness.
- The other half is shared by Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt for formalizing creative destruction in a 1992 model that shows how new technologies displace incumbents and drive long-run growth.
- Committee chair John Hassler cautioned that economies can slip back into stagnation unless the mechanisms behind innovation-led renewal are protected.
- The Academy flagged risks to progress, including market concentration, limits on academic freedom and fragmented knowledge that can impede competition and discovery.
- The award totals 11 million Swedish kronor, and the laureates will receive their medals and diplomas at the December 10 ceremony in Stockholm.