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  3. Peter Howitt, Ph.D. Northwestern University, 1973

Peter Howitt, Ph.D. Northwestern University, 1973

peter with nobel prize

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Nanaka Adachi

Peter Howitt is a distinguished Canadian economist whose work has reshaped scholars' understanding of economic growth. A recipient of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics, awarded alongside Joel Mokyr and Philippe Aghion, he was recognized for his foundational work on creative destruction, a theory explaining how innovation drives long-run economic growth by replacing outdated technologies and industries. Howitt earned his master’s degree in economics from Western University in 1969 and spent more than two decades on the Department of Economics faculty (1972 to 1996), where much of the Nobel-recognized research took shape. He later held senior academic appointments at Ohio State University and Brown University, where he is professor emeritus, and remains closely connected to Western as an honorary professor.

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