Joel Mokyr Says Hostage Release Gave Him Greater Joy Than Nobel Honor

When Israeli-American economist Joel Mokyr learned he had been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, it wasn't the most meaningful news of his morning.

“I woke up very early to check the updates about the hostages,” Mokyr said, referring to Israelis released from captivity in Gaza. “While reading, suddenly my inbox filled with congratulations. I thought, ‘What the hell is this?’ Then I noticed a missed call from Sweden and that’s when I learned I had won the Nobel Prize.”

The 79-year-old professor at Northwestern University and Tel Aviv University was honored alongside Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt for their groundbreaking work on innovation-led economic growth. Mokyr’s research focused on the historical and intellectual conditions that allow technological progress to flourish contributions that earned him half of the $1.2 million prize.

But in his words, “the return of the hostages meant far more than any personal achievement.”

Born in the Netherlands to Holocaust survivors, Mokyr moved to Israel at age nine and grew up in Haifa. He earned degrees at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and later Yale, where he deepened his passion for economic history a path shaped by a Polish-Jewish teacher he still remembers fondly as “brilliant.”

Mokyr splits his time between the U.S. and Israel, regularly lecturing at Israeli universities and calling the country “by far the most creative nation in the world relative to its size.” From his summer home in Michigan, he recalled breaking the news to his wife: “We sat down, caught our breath, and she said, ‘That’s great we can pay for our grandchildren’s private school.’”

Despite global recognition, Mokyr finds the greatest pride not in accolades but in his students. Over the years, he has mentored more than 60 PhDs in economic history, shaping a new generation of thinkers.

His voice and values are deeply rooted in the Jewish experience, combining academic brilliance with a quiet, enduring love for Israel. A devoted listener of Kol Hamusica, Israel’s classical music station, Mokyr reminds us that national creativity doesn’t just manifest in the lab or the lecture hall it emerges from a culture that values learning, memory, and innovation.

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