Origins of Sustainable Economic Growth (Nobel Prize in Economics, 2025)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35774/visnyk2026.02.242Keywords:
sustainable economic growth, macro-inventions, micro-inventions, propositional and prescriptive knowledge, process of creative destruction, innovations, R&D, patent, “escape-competition effect”, composition effect”Abstract
The research of Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt – laureates of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics – is pivotal for understanding the mechanisms of long-term sustainable economic growth. The scholars examined how integrating scientific knowledge and technology, adopting creative approaches to product development, and the process of creative destruction stimulate production renewal and enhance productivity. Their models demonstrate that sustainable growth emerges from the interaction of innovation, competition, and effective institutions that protect innovation and foster entrepreneurship. Research purpose. To substantiate the contribution of J. Mokyr, P. Aghion, and P. Howitt to the construction of sustainable economic growth models that explain the role of technological change, the process of creative destruction, and the interaction between scientific knowledge and technology. Research methods: systemic approach, methods of induction and deduction, analysis and synthesis, mathematical methods, and conceptual generalization. Results. A systematic analysis of the models of J. Mokyr, P. Aghion, and P. Howitt has been carried out, explaining the mechanisms of innovative renewal and creative destruction in achieving sustainable growth. The key factors of long-term productivity have been substantiated: knowledge and technology integration, the impact of technological shocks, and competition. The significance of creative approaches to product and technology development is emphasized, as they ensure continuous product renewal and lay the foundation for sustainable economic growth. Attention is given to institutional conditions that stimulate entrepreneurship, protect innovation, and strengthen competition, thereby ensuring long-term sustainable growth. Prospects. Further research should empirically test the models of Mokyr, Aghion, and Howitt at the level of individual industries and national economies, while accounting for the specifics of the competitive environment and institutions. Important areas include the analysis of the impact of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence; financial constraints; firm heterogeneity; and patent protection, which will allow for the evaluation of the effectiveness of state innovation policy and the provision of long-term sustainable growth.
References
Mokyr, J. (2016). The Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy. Princeton: Princeton University Press. DOI: https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781400882915/ html.
Aghion, P., Akcigit, U., Howitt, P. (2013). What do we learn from Schumpeterian growth theory? (NBER Working Paper No. 18824). National Bureau of Economic Research. URL: https://www. nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w18824/w18824.pdf.
Solow, R. (1956). A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 70(1), 65–94. URL: https://home.ufam.edu.br/salomao/Macro%20II/3%C2%AA%20 Prova/Artigos/A%20contribution%20to%20the%20theory%20of%20Economic%20Growth%20 SOLOW.pdf.
Romer, P. (1986). Increasing Returns and Long-Run Growth. Journal of Political Economy, 94(5), 1002–1037. URL: https://extranet.parisschoolofeconomics.eu/docs/darcillon-thibault/ paul-romer-increasing-returns-and-long-run-growth.pdf.
Grossman, G., Helpman, E. (1991). Innovation and Growth in the Global Economy. Cambridge, MA : MIT Press, 384 p.
Kuznets, S. (1966). Modern Economic Growth: Rate, Structure, and Spread. New Haven : Yale University Press, 529 p.
North, D. (1990). Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. URL: https://books.google.com.ua/books?id=oFnWbTqgNPYC&p g=PR3&hl=ru&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=1#v=onepage&q&f=false.
Mokyr, J. (1990). The Lever of Riches: Technological Creativity and Economic Progress. New York : Oxford University Press. URL: https://books.google.com.ua/books?id=b9Ha2CJHPQUC &pg=PA94&hl=ru&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=1#v=onepage&q&f=false.
Aghion, P., Howitt, P. (1990). A model of growth through creative destruction (NBER Working Paper No. 3223). National Bureau of Economic Research. URL: https://www.nber.org/system/ files/working_papers/w3223/w3223.pdf .
Joel Mokyr. Grokipedia. URL: https://grokipedia.com/page/Joel_Mokyr.Philippe Aghion. Grokipedia. URL: https://grokipedia.com/page/Philippe_Aghion.
Peter Howitt. Grokipedia. URL: https://grokipedia.com/page/Peter_Howitt.
Broadberry, S., Campbell, B., Klein, A., Overton, M., van Leeuwen, B. (2011). British economic growth, 1270–1870: An output-based approach (University of Kent, School of Economics Discussion Paper). University of Kent. URL: https://www.researchgate.net/ publication/254453531_British_Economic_Growth_1270-1870_an_output-based_approach.
Sutch, R. (2006). National income and product. In S. B. Carter, S. S. Gartner, and M. R. Haines (Eds.). Historical Statistics of the United States: Earliest Time to the Present, Chapter III. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
de la Escosura, L. (2009). Lost decades? Economic performance in post-independence Latin America. Journal of Latin America Studies, 41(2), 279–307. URL: https://www.researchgate. net/publication/231887968_Lost_Decades_Economic_Performance_in_Post-Independence_ Latin_America.
Mokyr, J. (2005). The intellectual origins of modern economic growth. The Journal of Economic History, 65(2), 285–351. URL: https://people.bu.edu/chamley/HSFref/Mokyr05.pdf.
Mokyr, J. (1990). Punctuated equilibria and technological progress. The American Economic Review, 80(2), 350–354. URL: https://scholar.google.co.il/citations?view_op=view_citatio n&hl=it&user=4J4nd3sAAAAJ&cstart=200&pagesize=100&sortby=pubdate&citation_for_ view=4J4nd3sAAAAJ:W7OEmFMy1HYC.
Mokyr, J. (2002). The gifts of Athena: Historical origins of the knowledge economy. Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.: Princeton University Press. URL: https://www.researchgate. net/publication/238342003_The_Gifts_of_Athena_Historical_Origins_of_the_Knowledge_ Economy.
Mokyr, J. (1992). Technological inertia in economic history. The Journal of Economic History, 52(2), 325–338. URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-economic-history/ article/abs/technological-inertia-in-economic-history/D02DF5B00AD6FA52FB4CBDDAE DC70070.
Aghion, P., Harris, C., Howitt, P., Vickers, J. (2001). Competition, imitation and growth with step-by-step innovation. The Review of Economic Studies, 68(3), 467–492. URL: https://dash. harvard.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/7312037d-26ec-6bd4-e053-0100007fdf3b/content.
Aghion, P., Bloom, N., Blundell, R., Griffith, R., Howitt, P. (2005). Competition and innovation: An inverted-U relationship. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 120(2), 701–728. URL: https:// www.researchgate.net/publication/39065716_Competition_and_Innovation_An_Inverted-U_ Relationship.
The Prize in Economic Sciences. (2025). Press Releas, November, 13. URL: https://www. nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2025/press-release/.






