Stockholm, Oct 13: Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt won the Nobel Memorial Prize in economics Monday for their research into the impact of innovation on economic growth and how new technologies replace older ones, a key economic concept known as “creative destruction.” The winners represent contrasting but complementary approaches to economics. Mokyr is an economic historian who delved into long-term trends using historical sources, while Howitt and Aghion relied on mathematics to explain how creative destruction works.
Dutch-born Mokyr, 79, is from Northwestern University; Aghion, 69, from the Collège de France and the London School of Economics; and Canadian-born Howitt, 79, from Brown University.
One-half of the 11 million Swedish kronor (nearly USD 1.2 million) prize goes to Mokyr, and the other half is shared by Aghion and Howitt. Winners also receive an 18-carat gold medal and a diploma. (AP)
