DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

"Economists don’t usually talk about 'culture.' But Joel Mokyr argues that it’s the engine of innovation—and the Nobel Prize committee agreed."

Prof. Manski receives the award in recognition of his groundbreaking work on uncertainty. The committee describes him as a "foundational figure," describing how his research "has profoundly influenced empirical research across education, health policy, labor markets, industrial policy, and social programs, by encouraging economists to rely on credible, transparent inference."

Prof. Mokyr will receive the honorary doctorate from his alma mater in an October 2026 ceremony.

"In 2018, high-speed passenger trains branded as Brightline started running along the formerly freight-only Florida East Coast Railway. Initial service from Miami to West Palm Beach was extended to Orlando in 2023. Unfortunately, the southern end of the line is in the spotlight because of collisions with pedestrians and motor vehicles."

Shreena Amin (’04) speaks with Northwestern Magazine about her new fine-dining restaurant and speakeasy, Class Act + Nightcap.

Karan Kunjur (Econ BA, '09) is co-founder and CEO of satellite startup K2 Space.

Prof. Mokyr discusses technological progress, classical music, and his favorite books with The Daily Northwestern.

Saito, a fourth-year student researching the economic impacts of the Japanese American internment during World War II, explains, "[Prof. Joel Mokyr has] encouraged me to continue on with my work even when confronted with many roadblocks—and he also encourages me to think bigger, too. He’ll engage with my ideas, help me work out the conceptual flow of things, and then ask me how my hypotheses relate to global cases of discrimination to other minority groups, or how the evolution of American race relations compares to those of other countries."

"Providing a novel answer to a fundamental question in economic and political history, Two Paths to Prosperity shows how extended kinship in Chinese society facilitated the consolidation of autocracy and hindered innovation and economic development, and how corporations in Europe influenced emerging state institutions and set the stage for the Industrial Revolution."

Check here for more information about Nobel Laureate Prof. Joel Mokyr and compiled set of media coverage.

Brown University Professor Emeritus Peter Howitt received his PhD in Economics from NU in 1973. He is among three economists awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, along with our own Prof. Joel Mokyr.

"The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel for 2025 to three economists for showing how technological progress has led to sustained economic growth. Mokyr receives half of the prize for his development of a theory for sustained economic growth. Mokyr identified three important requisites for growth: useful knowledge, mechanical competence and institutions conducive to technological progress."

"The age-old debate over whether principals or district offices should hold the reins in schools has gotten a fresh empirical test, courtesy of a new NBER working paper from Northwestern University economist Kirabo Jackson. The question seems simple: Should principals be empowered as the CEOs of their schools, or should they mainly implement directives crafted by their districts?"

NU Economics Prof. Molly Schnell and PhD student Max Pienkny, along with department affiliate Prof. Hannes Schwandt, examine the lasting impact of school shootings on students' mental health.

During her time as an Econ major, Irena explains, "I grew interested in the economic dimensions of foreign policy, which I pursued through internships at USAID, the Department of State, and the White House. I further explored this interest during my master’s degree as a research fellow with the Oxford China Policy Lab."