Canadian economist Peter Howitt won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for 2025, alongside French economist Philippe Aghion and Dutch-born Joel Mokyr, in recognition of their contributions to explaining innovation-driven economic growth, according to an announcement by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Monday.
Howitt expressed his great happiness, saying: “It’s a lifelong dream come true.” He added that he learned about the prize from a Swedish journalist who called his wife early in the morning, before he received the official notification from the prize committee.
He jokingly remarked that he hadn’t expected this event, saying: “We didn’t have a bottle of champagne in the fridge in anticipation of this occasion.
Howitt and Aghion became renowned for developing a mathematical model that explains the concept of “creative destruction” in economics—the process by which new innovations replace old technologies and drive growth. Their most prominent joint work was published in 1992 and formed the basis for understanding the mechanisms of sustainable growth in modern economies.
Howitt, 79, a professor at Brown University in Rhode Island, said he looks forward to celebrating this achievement with his colleague Aghion and their families. He added: “We have worked together for more than thirty years, and we look forward to seeing our children, who are spread across North America, and traveling to Sweden together."
Howitt is originally from Montreal, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from McGill University, followed by a master’s degree from the University of Western Ontario.
Howitt and Aghion received half of the prize, which is worth about 1.6 million Canadian dollars, while Mokyr received the other half.
