On Monday, American-Israeli Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion of France, and Peter Howitt of Canada were given the Nobel Prize in Economics for their research on the role of technology in long-term economic growth.
According to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Mokyr, 79, received half of the award “for having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress.”
It further stated that the other half was split “for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction” between Aghion, 69, and Howitt, 79.
John Hassler, chair of the prize committee, told reporters their work answered questions about how technological innovation drives growth and how sustained growth can be maintained.
Mokyr, who is a professor at Northwestern University in the United States, “used historical sources as one means to uncover the causes of sustained growth becoming the new normal”, the jury said in a statement.
Aghion and Howitt then examined the concept of “creative destruction”, which refers to the process “when a new and better product enters the market, the companies selling the older products lose out”.
According to the will of Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel, who passed away in 1896, the economics prize is the only one of the original five Nobel awards. Critics have referred to it as “a false Nobel” because it was actually established in 1968 thanks to a contribution from the Swedish state bank.
However, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences selects the winner and uses the same selection procedure as for the chemistry and physics Nobels.
This year’s Nobel season culminates with the economics prize, which recognized studies of the human immune system, real-world applications of quantum physics, and the creation of novel molecular architecture.
The literature prize went to Hungarian author Laszlo Krasznahorkai whose works explore themes of postmodern dystopia and melancholy.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was given the highly watched Nobel Peace Prize. In a surprise move, Machado dedicated the prize to US President Donald Trump, who had made no secret that he thought he deserved it.
The Nobel economics prize consists of a diploma, a gold medal and a $1.2 million cheque. The laureates will receive their prizes at formal ceremonies in Stockholm and Oslo on December 10. That date is the anniversary of the death in 1896 of scientist Alfred Nobel, who created the prizes in his will.
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