EU-funded economist wins 2025 Nobel Prize

Philippe Aghion is a joint recipient of this year’s Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Professor Aghion has received substantial funding from the European Research Council (ERC) and has taken part in Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA).

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the prize to Philippe Aghion, Joel Mokyr and Peter Howitt “for having explained innovation-driven economic growth”. Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt were jointly awarded half of the prize “for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction”.

Professor Aghion was previously awarded an ERC Advanced Grant for his IFDG research project, which examined the relationship between innovation, growth and social mobility, and recently received a second ERC Advanced Grant for his BTI research project, which will analyse the effects of breakthrough innovation.

Professor Aghion was also involved in several MSCAs. He took part in the MSCA ECOCEP project, which examined how integrated approaches to modelling the impacts of climate and energy policies could guide the way to a highly energy efficient, low carbon and green global economy. He was also a coordinator of the MSCA ERIETE project and a researcher in the MSCA NET project.

Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva, said: 

“The 2025 Nobel announcements end on a positive note for Europe! Congratulations to Phillippe Aghion, Joel Mokyr and Peter Howitt on the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. Philippe Aghion is the fifteenth researcher substantially funded by the EU through the European Research Council to take home a Nobel prize. Previously, the EU has backed him with other research grants, notably Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions funding. Such outstanding minds and their revolutionary research bears witness to the wealth of talent that Europe hosts. Looking back on last week, we are also happy that Michel H. Devoret, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics together with John Clarke and John M. Martinis, has helped train young scholars as a former Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions supervisor.”

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences was set up in 1968 in memory of Alfred Nobel and is awarded annually for outstanding work in the field of economic sciences.

Background

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions are part of Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation framework programme and a cornerstone of the European Research Area. They support researchers in developing their careers and skills across borders, disciplines and sectors. 

The European Research Council is the EU’s premier funding organisation for frontier research, providing support for researchers to run projects based across Europe. It also forms part of the EU’s research and innovation framework programme.

More information

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

European Innovation Council (ERC)

Horizon Europe

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EC Spokesperson for Research, Science and Innovation