Stockholm, Oct 13 (NationPress) - The concluding Nobel Prize for Economics this year was awarded to Joel Mokyr (Northwestern University, USA), Philippe Aghion (College de France and INSEAD, Paris, France), and Peter Howitt (Brown University, USA) on Monday for their insights into innovation-driven, sustained economic growth.

Half of the prestigious award was given to Mokyr "for pinpointing the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological advancements", while Aghion and Howitt received the other half "for their theory of sustained growth via creative destruction", as announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences during the presentation of the "Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2025".

The Academy noted, "Over the past 200 years, the world has experienced sustained economic growth for the first time, lifting countless individuals out of poverty and establishing the groundwork for our prosperity. This year’s laureates elucidate how innovation fuels continued progress."

Mokyr harnessed historical resources to uncover the factors contributing to sustained growth becoming the new standard.

He demonstrated that for innovations to succeed each other in a self-sustaining cycle, it is essential to understand not only that something works but also to have scientific rationales for the underlying principles.

"This understanding was frequently absent before the industrial revolution, complicating the ability to build on new discoveries and inventions. He also stressed the necessity for a society to be open to new ideas and embrace change," according to an Academy statement.

Aghion and Howitt also delved into the underlying mechanisms of sustained growth.

In their 1992 article, they developed a mathematical framework for what is termed creative destruction: when a new, superior product enters the market, companies offering older products face losses. The innovation is both creative and destructive, as those whose technology becomes outdated are outperformed.

The laureates illustrate how creative destruction generates conflicts that must be navigated constructively. Otherwise, innovation may be stifled by established entities and interest groups that could be disadvantaged.

John Hassler, Chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences, remarked, "The laureates’ research highlights that economic growth should not be taken for granted. We must sustain the mechanisms supporting creative destruction to avoid reverting to stagnation."

Last year, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences honored three US economists with the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for their groundbreaking analyses on the stark disparities in prosperity among nations, aiming to unravel why some countries thrive while others lag behind.

Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and James A. Robinson from the University of Chicago in the USA were recognized for their studies on the formation of institutions and their impacts on prosperity.