Economic progress and technological innovation: Joel Mokyr receives the University of Bologna’s Sigillum Magnum

What makes economic progress sustainable?  What are the consequences, including the unexpected ones, of technological innovation? These were some of the questions explored in the lecture Economic Progress and its Discontents, delivered today by Joel Mokyr in the Aula Absidale of Santa Lucia on the occasion of the presentation of the University of Bologna’s Sigillum Magnum.

Awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, Mokyr received the University’s highest honour for his contribution to the study of the origins of modern economic growth and the processes that have shaped the development of contemporary societies, with particular emphasis on the role of knowledge.

“Technological innovation is always disruptive and never without risks,” said Joel Mokyr. “The growth brought about by the Industrial Revolution has led to climate change, a problem that could have disastrous consequences. To overcome it, we do not need less growth, but a different kind of growth. Our only hope lies in greater creativity and investment: only when the system provides sufficient incentives can the technological solutions we need emerge.”

“At the heart of Professor Mokyr’s research lies a fundamental question: why, from the Industrial Revolution onwards, did technological progress cease to be a series of isolated innovations and become a continuous, cumulative process capable of sustaining long-term growth?” said Rector Giovanni Molari. The Rector Giovanni Molari stated:

“Knowledge alone does not produce innovation.  To become a force for change, it must be preserved, shared and subjected to critical scrutiny,” the Rector continued, highlighting one of the central themes of Mokyr’s research: the relationship between scientific knowledge, practical skills and societies’ ability to encourage the circulation of ideas and experimentation.

It is precisely here that Mokyr’s research directly intersects with the University’s mission. 

“The University is one of the key places where knowledge is produced, passed on and developed over time,” Molari emphasised. “It is a space where established knowledge can be questioned and new questions can be asked, even when the answers are not yet available.”