Joel Mokyr

Nobel Prize speaker Joel Mokyr is a distinguished and influential economic historian, widely recognized for his pioneering research into how ideas, culture, and institutions have shaped long-term prosperity and technological progress. Born in the Netherlands and raised in Israel, he has devoted his career to bridging economics and history, showing how societies move from stagnation to sustained growth by changing the way they value, produce, and share knowledge. He is Professor of Economics and History at Northwestern University, where he has inspired generations of students, scholars, and policymakers to see growth not just as a matter of capital and resources, but as a story of human creativity and curiosity.

Mokyr’s work has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of the Industrial Revolution and the rise of the modern economy. In books such as A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy and his influential edited volumes on the history of technological change, he argues that prosperity emerges when societies cultivate a “culture of growth”: one that rewards innovation, tolerates dissent, and encourages the free exchange of “useful knowledge.” His research highlights the crucial roles played by scientific communities, intellectual networks, and open institutions in enabling breakthroughs that transform entire economies.

Over the course of his career, Mokyr has received numerous honors and awards for his contributions to economic history and the study of innovation. In 2025, he was awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, which he shared with Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt. Together, their work has provided a unified view of how innovation, ideas, and creative destruction drive long-run growth, linking historical experience with modern growth theory and demonstrating the conditions under which technological progress can be sustained.

As a speaker, Joel Mokyr brings history vividly to life with clarity, wit, and a deep sense of relevance. He connects the Industrial Revolution to today’s digital and AI revolutions, showing how ideas—and the people and institutions that support them—shape the trajectory of economies. Whether he is discussing the origins of capitalism, the future of work, the role of culture and diversity in innovation, or how societies can innovate their way out of climate and demographic challenges, he provides audiences with a powerful, long-run perspective on today’s most urgent debates.

Audiences value Mokyr’s rare ability to combine rigorous scholarship with accessible storytelling and practical insight. His message is ultimately optimistic and grounded in evidence: progress is neither automatic nor guaranteed, but when societies protect openness, invest in knowledge, and embrace innovation, they create the foundations for sustained prosperity and human flourishing.