Prof. Madan Mohan Goel, Proponent Needonomics & Former Vice-Chancellor (Thrice)
Needonomics School of Thought (NST) extends its heartfelt greetings and warm congratulations to the 2025 Nobel Laureates in Economic Sciences — Joel Mokyr (Northwestern University, USA), Philippe Aghion (Collège de France and INSEAD, Paris, France), and Peter Howitt (Brown University, USA) — for their groundbreaking contributions to understanding innovation-driven and sustained economic growth.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, in conferring the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2025, recognized two complementary pillars of growth:
- One half of the prize was awarded to Joel Mokyr “for identifying the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress.”
- The other half was jointly awarded to Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt “for their theory of sustained growth through creative destruction.”
Royal Swedish Academy noted:
“Over the last two centuries, the world has, for the first time in history, witnessed sustained economic growth. This has lifted vast numbers of people out of poverty and laid the foundations of modern prosperity. This year’s laureates explain how innovation provides the impetus for further progress.”
Joel Mokyr’s historical research revealed the deep-rooted causes behind the emergence of sustained growth as a norm. He demonstrated that for innovation to thrive, societies must not only know that something works but also why it works. The Industrial Revolution, in his analysis, marked a transformative moment because it combined practical invention with scientific understanding, enabling cumulative and continuous innovation. Mokyr also underscored the necessity of an open society receptive to new ideas and change — without which technological advancement eventually stagnates.
In parallel, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt explored the dynamic mechanisms of sustained growth through their seminal 1992 model of creative destruction. Their framework explains how innovation — while propelling progress — simultaneously disrupts established industries. Each new product or technology replaces an older one, driving a process that is both creative and disruptive. The laureates emphasized the constructive management of these tensions, as progress depends on ensuring that innovation is not suppressed by the resistance of vested interests.
As John Hassler, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Economic Sciences, aptly observed,
“The laureates’ work shows that economic growth cannot be taken for granted. We must uphold the mechanisms that underlie creative destruction so that we do not fall back into stagnation.”
The 2025 recognition follows the 2024 Nobel honour for Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson, whose work on institutions and prosperity highlighted that sustainable development requires both robust institutions and ethical foundations.
In this context, Needonomics School of Thought (NST) humbly submits that Needonomics — a Gita-inspired Indian philosophy — complements and strengthens these Nobel insights. Needonomics advocates needo-consumption, or mindful consumption, as a path toward sustainability in a world driven by innovation and competition. While innovation and creative destruction fuel economic advancement, Needonomics provides the moral compass that ensures such progress remains human-centric, equitable, and environmentally sustainable.
Needonomics calls for balancing innovation with introspection and growth with gratitude. It reminds policymakers, entrepreneurs, and individuals that true development lies not in the accumulation of wealth but in the wise fulfillment of needs without feeding greed. This synthesis of moral values and economic logic offers a pathway to sustainable well-being — a message of enduring relevance in the 21st century.
Once again, NST salutes the 2025 Nobel Laureates- Mokyr, Aghion, and Howitt with reverence and respect, celebrating their contributions to understanding and advancing the causes of human progress. May their pioneering work continue to inspire economists and policymakers across the world, and may the spirit of Needonomics enrich this noble pursuit with the timeless wisdom of Gita, the heart of Krishan, reminding us that innovation without moderation may enrich economies, but it cannot ennoble humanity.
