Northwestern Professor Wins Nobel Prize In Economic Sciences

EVANSTON, IL — Northwestern University economics and history professor Joel Mokyr was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences on Monday.

Mokyr received the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel alongside two other economists. He received half the prize for his development of a theory for sustained economic growth.

His theory identified three important requisites for growth: useful knowledge, mechanical competence and institutions conductive to technological progress.

The other half of the prize is shared by Philippe Aghion of the Collège de France and the London School of Economics and Peter Howitt of Brown University for their creation of a mathematical model for a theory of sustained growth through creative destruction.

“This is a tremendous honor for Professor Mokyr and for Northwestern University,” said Northwestern President Henry S. Bienen. “Joel has been an invaluable member of one of the leading economics departments in the world, as well as to our influential history department, and he has had
a profound impact on our understanding of both economics and history by incorporating culture into the analysis of economic growth. He is an extraordinary scholar, teacher and mentor. Our University community is proud of his many accomplishments.”

Mokyr is an expert on Europe's economic history, specializing in the period 1750-1914. His studies focus on understanding the economic and intellectual roots of technological progress and growth of useful knowledge in European societies.

He also researches the impact that industrialization and economic progress have had on economic welfare.

Mokyr has published several books, including “A Culture of Growth: Origins of the Modern Economy” in 2016, which questions the factors that made the Industrial Revolution possible and how culture was a deciding factor in societal transformations.

His most recent book, “Two Paths to Prosperity: Culture and Institutions in China and Europe, 1000-2000," is set to be published in November.