The Swedish Academy has awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt, for their research on how innovation drives economic growth. This is not just another award..
Recognize an essential idea for our time. Sustainable growth is not achieved only with investment or macroeconomic stabilitybut with the ability to innovate, reinvent ourselves and constantly transform our productive structures.
I can’t help but celebrate this message. Because it summarizes, to a large extent, the meaning of our work as a business association: promote an environment where new ideas can flourish, be transformed into value and reach society as a whole.
The three winners have helped understand why some societies grow and others stagnate. Joel Mokyr, economic historian, has shown that technological progress arises not only from laboratories, but from a culture that values curiosity, openness, and experimentation. Without a social environment that rewards creativity and tolerates error, innovation slows down.
For your partPhilippe Aghion and Peter Howitt have formulated the theory of growth by “creative destruction”: each innovation replaces the previous one, generating new jobs, companies and sectors, while forcing others to transform. It is a process that can be demanding, but also deeply dynamic. Thanks to it, advanced economies maintain their vitality and create new opportunities.
Lessons for Europe and Spain
The Nobel comes at a key moment for Europe. In a context of economic slowdown, geopolitical tensions and technological challenges, This recognition reminds us that competitiveness is not decreed, it is built. And it is built on policies that encourage talent, research and entrepreneurship.
Spain has a great opportunity. In recent years we have made progress in connectivity, digitalization and technological deployment.
But we still need to accelerate knowledge transfer, strengthen innovation ecosystemsreduce regulatory barriers and, thereby, ensure that our companies grow in size and can increase the investment necessary to achieve sustainable growth.
The lesson of Aghion and Howitt is clear: Without competition and without a flexible framework, innovation loses strength. And Mokyr’s reminds us that we also need a mentality open to change, both in institutions and in society.
Innovating is also taking care of people
Aghion and Howitt’s “creative destruction” should not be understood as an invitation to leave anyone behind. True innovation is inclusive: creates higher-value jobs, boosts productivity and improves collective well-being.
That is why it is essential to accompany the transformation with trainingupdating knowledge and active employment policies.
According to the DigitalES Jobs and Emerging Sectors report, The most in-demand profiles – specialists in AI, cybersecurity or data analysis – continue to grow (although increasingly slowly), but the digital talent deficit persists.
This Nobel Prize winner’s message is a reminder that Innovation is not an option, but a necessity. Europe must lead the next technological wave—that of artificial intelligence, the data economy, quantum or the double green and digital transition—with determination and a long-term vision.
And it must do so without leaving anyone behind by strengthening public-private collaboration, supporting the digital business fabric, facilitating the digitalization of SMEs and the self-employed, promoting the development of talent and remembering that only by innovating can we grow sustainably, and only by growing can we improve our well-being.
***Miguel Sánchez Galindo is general director of DigitalES
The post the message of the Nobel Prize in Economics 2025 appeared first on Veritas News.
