A life in context
The person behind the prize
Howitt is a Canadian economist associated with Brown University. His research asks how the decisions of firms and workers combine into changes in the whole economy. With Philippe Aghion, he developed a theory that puts technological replacement at the centre of economic growth.
The contribution
The Aghion–Howitt model explains how research can raise productivity while making earlier technologies obsolete. It also shows why the private reward for innovation and its wider social value need not coincide.
The idea in plain language
An invention can improve life once. Sustained growth requires a continuing flow of better methods and products. Mokyr investigated the historical conditions that let scientific understanding and practical know-how keep reinforcing each other.
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