Basic lessons on growth from this year's Nobel prize winner

Joel Mokyr's work on economic prosperity has plenty to teach us

- ALLISON SCHRAGER

studied economics at the University of Edinburgh, which meant reading a lot about the economic history of Northern Britain—and that, in turn, meant reading a lot of Joel Mokyr, who is one of three economists who won this year's Nobel award [or the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences].

Later on, as I embarked on my career as an economist, I got to know him personally and his newer research continues to shape my understanding of economic growth.

Whenever I feel uncertain about the future of the economy, I turn to Mokyr.

His work is the foundation of my understanding of why some economies thrive, some stagnate and others decline. It offers both hope and a warning to countries navigating the current economic uncertainty, and sheds some light on big questions about the effect of artificial intelligence (AI) and the viability of the Chinese model.

As an admirer of his work and in honour of his Nobel, I thought I would offer the five most important lessons of Joel Mokyr.

Growth has always been critical to economic prosperity—it is why people live longer and lead more comfortable lives that are free from the drudgery of hard labour. But it is often resisted, because it involves upheaval and uncertainty.