Joel Mokyr facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Joel Mokyr
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| יואל מוקיר | |
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| Born | July 26, 1946 |
| Nationality | Israeli American Dutch |
| Alma mater | Hebrew University of Jerusalem (BA) Yale University (MPhil, PhD) |
| Awards | Heineken Award for History (2006) Balzan Prize (2015) Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences (2025) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Northwestern University |
| Doctoral advisor | William N. Parker John C. H. Fei |
| Doctoral students | Avner Greif |
| Influenced | Cormac Ó Gráda |
Joel Mokyr (born July 26, 1946) is a famous historian who studies how economies have changed over time. He was born in the Netherlands and is now an American-Israeli citizen. He teaches economics and history at Northwestern University and also at Tel Aviv University. In 2025, he received half of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. He won this award for figuring out what is needed for technology to keep growing and making our lives better.
Contents
Joel Mokyr's Early Life and School
Joel Mokyr was born in Leiden, Netherlands, in 1946. His family were Dutch Jews who had lived through a very difficult time in history. When Joel was just one year old, his father passed away. His mother then raised him in Haifa, Israel.
He went to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and earned a degree in economics and history in 1968. Later, he studied at Yale University. He received his master's degree in economics in 1972 and his PhD in economics in 1974. For his PhD, he wrote about how industries grew and sometimes slowed down in the Netherlands and Belgium between 1800 and 1850.
Joel Mokyr's Work and Teaching
Joel Mokyr started teaching at Yale University in 1972. In 1974, he became a professor at Northwestern University, where he still teaches today.
He has also led important projects. Since 1993, he has been the main editor for a series of books called "Princeton Economic History of the Western World." He also helped edit the Journal of Economic History from 1994 to 1998. From 2002 to 2003, he was the President of the Economic History Association, a group for people who study economic history.
Joel Mokyr's Ideas on the Industrial Revolution
Joel Mokyr has studied the Industrial Revolution very closely. This was a time when new machines and factories changed the world. He believes that this big change happened because of how people thought (culture) and how societies were organized (institutions).
Why Europe Led the Way
Mokyr suggests that a key reason for the Industrial Revolution was a new belief. People started to think that progress was a good thing and that knowledge could grow over time. This was a big shift in how thinkers saw the world.
He also points out that Europe had many different countries, not just one big empire. This "political fragmentation" was important. If someone had a new idea that a ruler didn't like, they could often move to a nearby country. This allowed new and different ideas to grow. This was different from places like China or India, which had large, single empires. Even though China had movable type and India had advanced science, the Industrial Revolution started in Europe.
In Europe, even with many countries, there was also a "market for ideas." Scholars across Europe shared their thoughts using Latin as a common language. They also shared a love for old classical writings and were part of a network called the Republic of Letters. This helped new ideas spread quickly.
A Culture of Growth Book
Joel Mokyr wrote a book in 2016 called A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy. In this book, he shares his ideas about why the Industrial Revolution happened. Many people have praised the book.
For example, historian Deirdre McCloskey called it a "brilliant book." She said it helps readers understand how our modern world came to be. Another expert, Brad DeLong, wrote in Nature that the book made him rethink his own ideas.
Some people, like Victoria Bateman, liked that the book focused on culture. Others, like Geoffrey Hodgson, thought it gave too much credit to a few special people. Overall, the book has made many people think deeply about history and progress.
Why People Resist New Technologies
Joel Mokyr also looked at why people sometimes don't want new technologies. He found three main reasons:
- Some people in power might worry that new technology will take away their influence or special advantages.
- Others might be concerned about unexpected problems that new technology could cause in society. These are like "ripple effects" that spread out.
- People can also be afraid of the unknown. New technologies sometimes have results that no one can predict.
These reasons often combine, making it hard for new inventions to be accepted. Mokyr explains that new technology doesn't just appear smoothly. It's often a process that involves many different groups and their ideas.
Awards and Honors
Joel Mokyr has received many important awards for his work:
- In 1996, he became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- In 2001, he joined the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- He received the Heineken Award for History in 2006.
- In 2011, he became a Fellow of the Econometric Society.
- He won the Balzan International Prize for economic history in 2015.
- In 2025, he was awarded half of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. He shared this prize with Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt. They were recognized for their work on how technology helps economies grow.
Books by Joel Mokyr
Joel Mokyr has written many books about economic history, including:
- Industrialization in the Low Countries, 1795–1850 (1976)
- Why Ireland Starved: An Analytical and Quantitative Study of Irish Poverty, 1800–1851 (1983)
- The Economics of the Industrial Revolution (editor) (1985)
- Twenty Five Centuries of Technological Change: An Historical Survey (1990)
- The Lever of Riches: Technological Creativity and Economic Progress (1990)
- The Vital One: Essays in Honor of Jonathan Hughes (editor) (1991)
- The British Industrial Revolution: an Economic Perspective (editor) (1993)
- The Gifts of Athena: Historical Origins of the Knowledge Economy (2002)
- The Oxford University Press Encyclopedia of Economic History (editor in chief) (2003)
- The Invention of Enterprise: Entrepreneurship from Ancient Mesopotamia to Modern Times (co-editor) (2009)
- The Enlightened Economy: An Economic History of Britain 1700–1850 (2009)
- The Birth of Modern Europe: Culture and Economy, 1400–1800: Essays in Honor of Jan de Vries (co-editor with Laura Cruz) (2010)
- A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy (2016)
- Economics in the Test of Time: Issues in Economic History (with Amira Ofer), in Hebrew, 2 volumes. (2017)
See also
In Spanish: Joel Mokyr para niños
- List of Jewish Nobel laureates
- List of Israeli Nobel laureates
