View source for Philippe Aghion

{{short description|French economist (born 1956)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox economist
| school_tradition = [[Neo-Schumpeterian economics|Neo-Schumpeterian]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 October 2025 |title=Philippe Aghion, Peter Howitt and Joel Mokyr win 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2025/10/13/philippe-aghion-peter-howitt-and-joel-mokyr-win-2025-economics-nobel-prize_6746386_19.html |access-date=13 October 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
| image            = Phillipe Aghion - The State of France (cropped).jpg
| caption          = Aghion at [[Boston University]] in February 2015
| birth_name       = Philippe Mario Aghion
| birth_date       = {{Birth date and age|17 August 1956|df=y}}
| birth_place      = Paris, France
| death_date       =
| death_place      =
| institutions     = {{lang|fr|[[Collège de France]]|italic=no}}
<br />[[INSEAD]]<br />[[London School of Economics]]<br />[[Harvard University]]<br />[[University College London]]<br />[[Nuffield College, Oxford]]<br />[[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]
| field            = [[Innovation]]<br />[[Economic growth]]<br />[[Organization|Organisations]]<br />[[Contract theory]]
| education        = [[École normale supérieure Paris-Saclay|École normale supérieure de Cachan]] (now [[ENS Paris-Saclay]], [[University of Paris-Saclay]])<br />[[Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University]] ([[Master_of_Advanced_Studies#France_and_francophone_countries|DEA]], [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])<br />[[Harvard University]] ([[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])
| doctoral_advisors = 
| academic_advisors=
| doctoral_students=
| notable_students =
| influences       =
| influenced       =
|known_for=[[Endogenous growth theory]]<br>[[Creative destruction]]
| contributions    =
| awards           = [[BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award]] (2019)<br>[[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences|Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences]] (2025)
| signature        = <!-- file name only -->
| repec_prefix =   | repec_id =
| mother       = [[Gaby Aghion]]
}}
'''Philippe Mario Aghion'''<ref name="LH"/> {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|FBA}} ({{IPA|fr|filip aɡjɔ̃|lang}}; born 17 August 1956)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2025/aghion/facts/|title=Philippe Aghion|publisher=[[Nobel Prize]]}}</ref> is a French [[economist]] who is a professor at the [[Collège de France]] and [[INSEAD]],<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2022-04-11 |title=Philippe Aghion {{!}} Collège de France |url=https://www.college-de-france.fr/en/chair/philippe-aghion-economics-of-institutions-innovation-and-growth-statutory-chair/biography |access-date=2025-10-17 |website=www.college-de-france.fr |language=en}}</ref> and visiting professor at the [[London School of Economics]].<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Philippe Aghion |url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/people/philippe-aghion |access-date=15 October 2025 |website=The London School of Economics and Political Science |language=en}}</ref> Prior to that, he was a professor at [[University College London]] (1996{{endash}}2002), an Official Fellow at [[Nuffield College, Oxford]] (1992{{endash}}1996), and an assistant professor at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (1987{{endash}}1989). From 2002 to 2015, he was the Robert C. Waggoner Professor of Economics at [[Harvard University]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Philippe Aghion, 12th Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Economics, Finance and Management |url=https://www.frontiersofknowledgeawards-fbbva.es/galardonados/philippe-aghion-2/ |access-date=15 October 2025 |website=Premios Fronteras |language=en}}</ref>

In 2025, he shared half of the [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences]] with [[Peter Howitt (economist) |Peter Howitt]] "for the theory of sustained growth through [[creative destruction]]."<ref name="reuters">{{Cite web |last1=Ahlander |first1=Johan |last2=Allen |first2=Jonathan |last3=Johnson |first3=Simon |title=Trio win Nobel economics prize for work on innovation, growth and 'creative destruction'|work=Reuters |access-date=13 October 2025 |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/mokyr-aghion-howitt-win-2025-nobel-economics-prize-2025-10-13}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Philippe Aghion was born in Paris in 1956,<ref name="nobel" /> he is the son of [[Gaby Aghion]],<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last1=Cetinic |first1=Oleg |last2=Leicester |first2=John |date=13 October 2025 |title=Nobel laureate Philippe Aghion says creative upbringing shaped his vision of innovation and freedom |url=https://apnews.com/article/philippe-aghion-nobel-prize-fashion-chloe-paris-a4e99a761407dd51b310586afd31453a |access-date=15 October 2025 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref> a French fashion designer and founder of the French fashion house [[Chloé]].<ref name=":1" /> Gaby is said to have coined the phrase ''[[Ready-to-wear|prêt-à-porter]]''.<ref>[http://thewindow.barneys.com/chloe-a-60-year-tradition-of-pretty-pret-a-porter/ Chloé: A 60-Year Tradition of Pretty Prêt-à-Porter] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525141128/http://thewindow.barneys.com/chloe-a-60-year-tradition-of-pretty-pret-a-porter/ |date=25 May 2012 }}. Lauren Cochrane. ''The Guardian'', 2 October 2012.</ref><ref name=":1" /> His father, Raymond Aghion, had an [[art gallery]] in [[Boulevard Saint-Germain]].<ref name=":2" /> Both his parents are from [[Jews in Greece|Jewish]] families from [[Alexandria, Egypt]].<ref name=":2" />  They later moved to [[Paris]], in the [[Quartier latin]] before buying a house in [[Neuilly-sur-Seine]].<ref name=":2">{{cite magazine|access-date=2025-10-13 |date=2019-10-28 |first=Vanity |language=fr-FR |last=Fair |title=Rencontre : Philippe Aghion, le conseiller de Macron qui a grandi dans les défilés Chloé |url=https://www.vanityfair.fr/pouvoir/politique/story/rencontre-avec-philippe-aghion-le-conseiller-de-macron-qui-a-grandi-dans-les-defiles-chloe/10552 |magazine=Vanity Fair}}<!-- auto-translated from French by Module:CS1 translator -->.</ref> In an interview, Aghion recalled that he grew up surrounded by artists, including [[Karl Lagerfeld]].<ref name=":1" />

Aghion graduated from the mathematics section of the [[École Normale Supérieure de Cachan|École normale supérieure de Cachan]] (now [[ENS Paris-Saclay]], [[University of Paris-Saclay]]), and obtained a ''[[diplôme d'études approfondies]]'' and a ''doctorat de troisième cycle'' (third cycle doctorate) in [[mathematical economics]] from the [[Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University|Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Wallet |first=Paul-Henri |date=14 October 2025 |title=Philippe Aghion : quelles études a suivi le nouveau prix Nobel d'économie ? |url=https://etudiant.lefigaro.fr/article/etudes/philippe-aghion-quelles-etudes-a-suivi-le-nouveau-prix-nobel-d-economie-20251014/ |access-date=15 October 2025 |website=Le Figaro Etudiant |language=fr}}</ref> He received his [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]] in economics from [[Harvard University]] in 1987.<ref name=":0" />

==Career==
Aghion began his academic career in 1987 when he joined the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] as an Assistant Professor.<ref name=":0" /> In 1989 he returned to France and became a researcher at the [[French National Centre for Scientific Research]] (CNRS).<ref name=":0" /> In 1990, he was appointed Deputy Chief Economist of the [[European Bank for Reconstruction and Development]] (EBRD),<ref name=":0" /> before moving to the [[Nuffield College, Oxford]] and then [[University College London]] in 1996.<ref name=":0" /> In 2002, he returned to Harvard where he became the Robert C. Waggoner Professor in Economics, a chair he held until 2015 when he was named Centennial Professor of Economics at the [[London School of Economics]] (LSE).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Philippe Aghion |url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/people/philippe-aghion |access-date=13 October 2025 |website=The London School of Economics and Political Science |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

=== Other activities ===
Aghion was elected a Fellow of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 2009<ref>{{cite web |date=20 April 2009 |title=Eighteen faculty, affiliates named to 2009 class of AAAS Fellows |url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2009/04/eighteen-faculty-affiliates-named-to-2009-class-of-aaas-fellows/ |access-date=13 October 2025 |website=[[Harvard Gazette]]}}</ref> and he is a member of the Executive and Supervisory Committee (ESC) of [[CERGE-EI]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=CERGE-EI &#124; Executive and Supervisory Committee &#124; Governance Bodies &#124; People |url=http://www.cerge-ei.cz/governance/executive-and-supervisory-committee |website=www.cerge-ei.cz}}</ref><ref name="AAAS">{{cite web |title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter A |url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterA.pdf |access-date=6 April 2011 |publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences}}</ref> He was president of the [[European Economic Association]] in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=Past Presidents &#124; EEA |url=https://www.eeassoc.org/governance/executive-committee/past-presidents}}</ref> He has been an editor of the ''[[Annual Review of Economics]]'' since 2018.<ref>{{cite web |title=Annual Review of Economics, Planning Editorial Committee – Volume 10, 2018 |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/db/directory?2018,economics |access-date=15 September 2021 |website=Annual Reviews Directory}}</ref>

Ahead of the [[2012 French presidential election]], Aghion co-signed an appeal of several economists in support of candidate [[François Hollande]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 April 2012 |title=Nous, économistes, soutenons Hollande |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2012/04/17/nous-economistes-soutenons-hollande_1686249_3232.html |access-date=15 October 2025 |work=Le Monde |language=fr}}</ref>

In 2016, Aghion was appointed by [[United Nations Secretary-General]] [[Ban Ki-moon]] to an expert group advising the High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth, which was co-chaired by presidents [[François Hollande]] of [[France]] and [[Jacob Zuma]] of [[South Africa]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=High-Level Commission for Health Employment and Economic Growth: Expert Group |url=http://www.who.int/hrh/com-heeg/hrh_heeg_bios/en/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528162843/http://www.who.int/hrh/com-heeg/hrh_heeg_bios/en/ |archive-date=28 May 2016 |access-date=15 October 2025 |website=World Health Organization |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2021, he was appointed to the [[World Bank]]–[[International Monetary Fund]] High-Level Advisory Group (HLAG) on Sustainable and Inclusive Recovery and Growth, co-chaired by [[Mari Pangestu]], [[Ceyla Pazarbasioglu]], and [[Nicholas Stern]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Bank, IMF Launch High-Level Advisory Group on Sustainable and Inclusive Recovery and Growth |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2021/06/14/pr21175-world-bank-imf-launch-hlag-sustainable-inclusive-recovery-growth |access-date=15 October 2025 |website=IMF |language=en}}</ref>

Additional advisory activities include:
* [[CERGE-EI|Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education – Economics Institute]] (CERGE-EI), Member of the Board of Trustees<ref>[https://www.cerge-ei.cz/governance/cerge-ei-board-of-trustees Board of Trustees] [[CERGE-EI|Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education – Economics Institute]] .</ref>
* Centre de Recerca en Economia Internacional (CREI), [[Pompeu Fabra University]] (UPF), Member of the Advisory Board<ref>[https://crei.cat/about-crei/ Advisory Board] Centre de Recerca en Economia Internacional (CREI), [[Pompeu Fabra University]] (UPF).</ref>

== Aghion Report (2010) ==
Philippe Aghion led a working group of ten international experts<ref name="figaro2010">{{cite web|access-date=4 January 2023 |author=Natacha Polony |date=26 January 2010 |title=Un rapport pour mieux diriger les universités de demain |url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/formation/2010/01/26/01015-20100126ARTFIG00494-un-rapport-pour-mieux-diriger-les-universites-de-demain-.php |website=lefigaro.fr/}}<!-- auto-translated from French by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> whose work initially focused on an international comparison of university autonomy, and then on the implementation of campuses of academic excellence ({{ill|Initiative d'excellence|fr}}).<ref name="figaro2010"/> A two-part report was submitted in January 2010 to the Minister of Higher Education [[Valérie Pécresse]].<ref name="figaro2010" />

This report recommended establishing "balanced governance" in universities. Drawing on the examples of Harvard, MIT, Oxford, or Cambridge, it acknowledged that there is no single governance model.<ref name="lemonde2010" />

It proposed the creation of two governing bodies at the head of universities. The first, the board of directors, would be composed mostly of external members, who would appoint a president with extensive powers. The second would be embodied in an "academic senate", a genuine forum for scientific and pedagogical proposals.<ref name="lemonde2010">{{cite web|access-date=4 January 2023 |author=Philippe Jacqué |date=27 January 2010 |title=Des pistes de réflexion pour les futurs "campus d'excellence" |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2010/01/27/des-pistes-de-reflexion-pour-les-futurs-campus-d-excellence_1297336_3224.html |website=lemonde.fr}}<!-- auto-translated from French by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

== Political views ==
During the [[2012 French presidential election]], he signed the appeal of economists supporting candidate [[François Hollande]] because of "the relevance of the proposed options, in particular with regard to the recovery of growth and employment".<ref>{{cite news |date=17 April 2012 |title=Nous, économistes, soutenons Hollande |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2012/04/17/nous-economistes-soutenons-hollande_1686249_3232.html |access-date=4 May 2012 |work=Le Monde |lang=fr}}</ref> In 2017, he expressed his support for [[Emmanuel Macron]].<ref>{{cite web |date=12 April 2017 |title=Pourquoi nous soutenons Emmanuel Macron |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2017/04/12/pourquoi-nous-soutenons-emmanuel-macron_5110033_3232.html |website=lemonde.fr}}<!-- auto-translated from French by Module:CS1 translator -->.</ref>

== Honours and awards ==
=== Honours ===
* Knight of the [[Legion of Honour]] (2012)<ref name="LH">{{cite web|url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000026871328|title=Décret du 31 décembre 2012 portant promotion et nomination|website=[[Légifrance]]|lang=fr}}</ref>
* Officer of the [[Ordre national du Mérite]] (2018)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000036927195|title=Décret du 19 mai 2018 portant promotion et nomination|website=[[Légifrance]]|lang=fr}}</ref>

=== Awards ===
In 2019, Aghion and [[Peter Howitt (economist)|Peter Howitt]] received the [[BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards|BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award]] in Economics.<ref>{{cite web |title=12th Edition Archives |url=https://www.frontiersofknowledgeawards-fbbva.es/version/edition_2019/}}</ref> He and Howitt were also awarded half of the [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences]] in 2025 "for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction", the other half going to [[Joel Mokyr]].<ref name="nobel">{{Cite web |work=The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences |date=13 October 2025 |title=The Prize in Economic Sciences 2025 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2025/10/press-economicsciencesprize2025.pdf }}</ref>

==Books==
* Aghion, Philippe; Antonin, Celine; Bunel, Simon (2021): ''The Power of Creative Destruction: Economic Upheaval and the Wealth of Nations''. Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-674-97116-5}}.
* Aghion, Philippe; Howitt, Peter (2009); ''The Economics of Growth.'' MIT Press. {{ISBN|978-0-262-01263-8}}
* Aghion, Philippe; Griffith, Rachel (2006). ''Competition and Growth''. MIT Press. {{ISBN|978-0-262-01218-8}}
* Aghion, Philippe; [[Steven N. Durlauf|Durlauf, Steven N.]] (2005). ''Handbook of economic growth''. '''1A'''. Amsterdam: Elsevier. {{ISBN|978-0-444-52041-8}}.
* Aghion, Philippe; [[Steven N. Durlauf|Durlauf, Steven N.]] (2005). ''Handbook of economic growth''. '''1B'''. Amsterdam: Elsevier. {{ISBN|978-0-444-52043-2}}.
* Aghion, Philippe; [[Peter Howitt (economist)|Howitt, Peter]] (1998). ''Endogenous growth theory''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. {{ISBN|978-0-262-01166-2}}.

== See also ==
* [[List of Jewish Nobel laureates]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Nobelprize}}

{{Yrjö Jahnsson Award recipients}}
{{John von Neumann Award recipients}}
{{Presidents of the European Economic Association}}
{{Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences laureates}}
{{2025 Nobel Prize winners}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aghion, Philippe}}
[[Category:Harvard University faculty]]
[[Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty]]
[[Category:Academics of University College London]]
[[Category:Fellows of Nuffield College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]
[[Category:University of Paris alumni]]
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:20th-century French Jews]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century  French economists]]
[[Category:21st-century French economists]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Econometric Society]]
[[Category:Corresponding fellows of the British Academy]]
[[Category:Annual Reviews (publisher) editors]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Economics]]
[[Category:French Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:Date of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Jewish Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University alumni]]
[[Category:Knights of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite]]