Honorary Doctor Philippe Aghion awarded the Economics Prize
We are delighted and proud to celebrate Professor Philippe Aghion, who has been awarded the 2025 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
This year’s prize is shared between Professors Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt “for advancing our understanding of innovation-driven economic growth.”
Joel Mokyr, Northwestern University, receives one half of the prize "for identifying the conditions for sustained growth through technological progress." The other half is shared by Philippe Aghion, Collège de France, INSEAD, and the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Peter Howitt, Brown University, "for developing the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction."
Together, the laureates have transformed our understanding of how innovation and creative destruction drive long-term prosperity - and how societies can balance the tensions they create.
"The laureates’ work reminds us that economic growth is not something we can take for granted. We must safeguard the mechanisms behind creative destruction to avoid falling back into stagnation," says John Hassler, Chair of the Prize Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences and Professor at the IIES.
A Longtime Friend of the IIES
Philippe Aghion is not only a laureate this year but also a longtime friend of the IIES and a recently appointed Honorary Doctor at Stockholm University. He was a visiting researcher at the IIES from 2009 to 2015 and has continued to collaborate closely with our researchers ever since.
"Philippe Aghion has meant a great deal to Stockholm University. During his years as a visiting researcher, he contributed wholeheartedly and selflessly to our work and was, above all, an extraordinary mentor to our PhD students. He is a role model and a cherished colleague," says Per Krusell, Professor and Director of IIES and member of the Economics Prize Committee.
Everyone at the IIES extends our warmest congratulations to Philippe and the other laureates on this well-deserved recognition.
Last updated: October 13, 2025
Source: Institute for International Economic Studies (IIES)