Canadian economist Peter Howitt is among the three laureates awarded this year’s Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for pioneering research on innovation-driven economic growth and the transformative process known as creative destruction.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced Monday that Howitt shares the prize with Philippe Aghion and Joel Mokyr, whose work explores how innovation replaces outdated technologies and fuels long-term development.
Recognizing the Power of Innovation
Howitt, 79, earned his economics degree from McGill University and a master’s from the University of Western Ontario before joining Brown University in Rhode Island, where he is now a professor of social sciences.
“It’s just the dream of a lifetime come true,” Howitt said, describing his early morning surprise when a Swedish journalist informed him of the win before the Nobel committee officially reached him.
Howitt’s co-laureates bring complementary perspectives: Aghion, 69, of the College de France and London School of Economics, uses mathematical modeling to explain innovation cycles; while Mokyr, 79, of Northwestern University, approaches economic growth through historical analysis.
‘Creative Destruction’ Explained
The trio’s research deepens understanding of “creative destruction,” a concept first articulated by Joseph Schumpeter in 1942 — describing how new technologies continuously replace old ones, driving both progress and disruption.
The Nobel committee said their work explains how scientific discovery, competition, and policy shape innovation over time, warning that sustained growth requires supporting the forces behind creativity and adaptation.
“Economic growth cannot be taken for granted,” said committee chair John Hassler. “We must uphold the mechanisms that underlie creative destruction so we do not fall back into stagnation.”
Howitt on Trade and Global Policy
Speaking to reporters, Howitt criticized Donald Trump’s trade policies, calling them harmful to innovation and global market efficiency.
“Starting a tariff war just reduces the size of the market for everybody,” he said. “It discourages innovation by reducing what we call the scale effect.”
He added that while reshoring manufacturing jobs might appeal politically, “it’s not good economic policy.”
Co-Winners React to the Honour
Mokyr, an economic historian, admitted he was stunned.
“I told my students I was more likely to be elected Pope — and I’m Jewish, by the way,” he joked.
Aghion said he was “overwhelmed and grateful,” noting he plans to invest his prize money into his research lab. He has long been an advocate for pro-innovation policies, advising French President Emmanuel Macron on economic reform and artificial intelligence initiatives.
About the Prize
The Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was established in 1968 and has been awarded 57 times to 99 laureates. This year’s 11 million Swedish kronor ($1.6 million CAD) prize is split — half to Mokyr and the other half shared between Aghion and Howitt.
Though technically not one of Alfred Nobel’s original prizes, it is presented alongside the other Nobel awards each December 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death.
