Peter Howitt, a Canadian economist and Nobel Laureate, recognized for his work on innovation-driven economic growth and creative destruction.
Peter Howitt, a Canadian economist, was awarded the 2025 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences alongside Joel Mokyr and Philippe Aghion. The trio was recognized for their groundbreaking work on innovation-driven economic growth, particularly through the concept of "creative destruction"—the process by which new technologies replace outdated ones, driving economic growth and improving living standards.
Born on May 31, 1946, in Canada, Peter Howitt is a distinguished economist known for his contributions to new dynamics, monetary economics, and macroeconomics. He currently serves as the Lyn Crost Professor of Social Sciences at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Peter Howitt has been a Fellow of the Econometric Society since 1994 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada since 1992. He also served as president of the Canadian Economics Association from 1993 to 1994 and was the editor of the Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking from 1997 to 2000.
Peter Howitt, along with Philippe Aghion, received half of the 2025 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel for their theory of sustained economic growth through creative destruction.
Their work, developed in the 1990s, builds upon Joseph Schumpeter’s idea that economic progress arises from the continuous replacement of old technologies with new ones. Their mathematical models have significantly advanced the understanding of how innovation drives long-term economic development.
Peter Howitt was born on May 31, 1946, making him 79 years old as of October 2025.
Howitt's significant contribution to economics is his development of the theory of sustained economic growth through creative destruction. This theory explains how continuous innovation leads to the replacement of outdated technologies, thereby fostering economic growth and improving living standards.
His work has provided a deeper understanding of the dynamics of economic progress and the role of technological advancement in driving development.
Peter Howitt's academic career has been marked by his tenure at Brown University, where he has been a professor since the 1980s. His research has focused on new dynamics, monetary economics, and macroeconomics.
Peter Howitt has also held visiting positions at several prestigious institutions, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
