Date/Time
November 10, 2026
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Location
Fromm Hall, Xavier Room

Economic Progress and its Discontents

Dr. Joel Mokyr, the 2025 Nobel Laureate in Economics, will discuss the cycle of progress and how innovation inevitably displaces existing techniques and methods, often creating uncertainty and discontent along the way. He will also explore the future of innovation. While some believe that mankind is doomed to fewer new ideas and increasing competition from artificial intelligence, Dr. Mokyr remains optimistic that human ingenuity and believes economic progress will continue. In short, he believes—or at least hopes—that “you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Following his talk, Dr. Mokyr will share additional insights and stories from his remarkable life and career during a Q&A with USF Professor Ludwig Chincarini.

MORE ON SPEAKER:

Joel Mokyr (born July 26, 1946, in Leiden, the Netherlands) is an American-Israeli economic historian recognized for his research on the origins and causes of technological progress and long-run economic growth. He is the Robert H. Strotz Professor of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Economics and History at Northwestern University, and Sackler Professor at the Eitan Berglas School of Economics at Tel Aviv University.

Mokyr earned his undergraduate degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and his Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University in 1974. He has taught at Northwestern since 1974 and has held visiting professorships at Harvard, the University of Chicago, Stanford, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, University College Dublin, and the University of Manchester.

Among his honors, Mokyr received the Heineken Prize for History in 2006 and the Balzan Prize for Economic History in 2015. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Econometric Society, and the British Academy, among other learned societies.

In 2025, Mokyr was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, sharing the prize with Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt “for having explained innovation-driven economic growth.” Mokyr received his share of the prize “for having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress.”