Feature: Prof. Joel Mokyr wins the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences
On Monday, October 13, 2025, economic historian Prof. Joel Mokyr was awarded the 2025 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He is among three winners of the 2025 prize, of which he received half. The other half went to Philippe Aghion of Collège de France and Peter Howitt of Brown University. Howitt received his PhD in Economics from Northwestern in 1973. Collectively, their research was recognized "for having explained innovation-driven economic growth."
Mokyr has been with the Department of Economics since 1974. He specializes in European economic history and is interested in technological progress and economic growth. His share of the prize was awarded "for having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress." As Mokyr describes it, “I use history to understand economics and economics to understand history.”
We are thrilled to celebrate this momentous achievement with Joel. The Department "is proud to be the institution where Joel Mokyr has spent over 50 years advancing the very Enlightenment ideals he studies," said Department Chair Jeffrey Ely.
Media coverage
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Daily Mail |
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The Hill |
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Inside Higher Education |
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UPI |
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Daily Mail |
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ABC Chicago |
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The Globe and Mail |
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science.org |
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New York Daily News |
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International Business Times |
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Asian News International |
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The New York Times |
| Nobel Prize In Economics 2025: Joel Mokyr Shares Award With Philippe Aghion And Peter Howitt For Radical Theories |
Mashable |
| Nobel Prize in economics awarded to Mokyr, Aghion and Howitt for explaining ‘innovation-driven’ growth |
CNN |
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USA Today |
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NBC News |
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The Washington Post |
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WBBM Radio |
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CNN |
| Economics Nobel to be shared by three for research on innovation-driven economic growth |
The Hindu |
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Deutsche Welle |
| Trio to share economics Nobel for work on innovation-driven growth |
Al Jazeera |
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Associated Press |
| Nobel economics prize goes to 3 researchers for explaining innovation-driven economic growth |
Los Angeles Times |
| Three recipients share 2025 Nobel Prize in economics |
China Daily |
| Joel Mokyr becomes Northwestern’s fourth Nobel laureate |
Evanston Roundtable |
