Three experts in the power of technology to drive economic growth have been awarded this year’s Nobel prize in economics.
Joel Mokyr of Northwestern University secured half of the 11m Swedish kronor (£867,000) prize, with the rest split between two other academics: Philippe Aghion of the Collège de France, Insead business school and the London School of Economics; and Peter Howitt of Brown University.
Announcing the prize against a backdrop of rapid development in artificial intelligence and fierce debate over its impact on society and living standards, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the trio had pioneered the explanation of “innovation-driven economic growth”.
The award came as countries worldwide push to turn around years of lacklustre economic growth since the 2008 financial crisis, amid concerns over a slowdown in productivity gains, sluggish progress on raising living standards, and mounting political tensions.
Aghion, a French economist, warned that “dark clouds” were gathering amid increasing barriers to trade and openness fuelled by Donald Trump’s trade wars. He also said innovation in green industries, and blocking the rise of giant tech monopolies would be vital to stronger growth in future.
“I’m not welcoming the protectionist wave in the US, and that’s not good for world growth and innovation,” he said.
Speaking as he accepted the prize, he said AI had “fantastic growth potential” but called on governments to develop strict competition policies to manage the growth of new tech companies. “Some superstar firms may end up dominating everything and inhibiting potential entry of new innovators. So how can we make sure that today’s innovators will not stifle future entry and innovation?”
The prize committee said technological developments had helped to power sustained economic growth over the past two centuries, but warned that future gains could not be taken for granted.
Mokyr, a Dutch-born American-Israeli economic historian, won the prize for his research identifying the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress. Aghion and Howitt, a Canadian economist, shared the award for their analysis of how “creative destruction” is key for driving growth.
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“We must uphold the mechanisms that underlie creative destruction, so that we do not fall back into stagnation,” said John Hassler, the chair of the committee for the prize in economic sciences.
Established in the 1960s, several decades after the original Nobel prizes, it is technically known as the Sveriges Riksbank prize in economic sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel.
