Conférence - Joel Mokyr : The Market for Ideas: then and now

Philippe AghionÉconomie des institutions, de l'innovation et de la croissanceCollège de FranceAnnée 2025-2026The Longue Durée: Economic History and the Rise of Prosperity in the Modern AgeConférence - Joel Mokyr : The Market for Ideas: then and nowJoel MokyrNorthwestern UniversityRésuméThis lecture asks whether Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam and Judaism) have played an important role in economic development and technological progress and to what extent it has held back growth in the past. The answers, it turns, out are far more nuanced and complex than much of the literature suggests, and that much modern science and technology have deep religious origins.