"The Enlightenment and Economic Growth" topic of upcoming Menard Family George Washington Forum

The Menard Family George Washington Forum hosts Joel Mokyr, Ph.D., discussing "The Enlightenment and Economic Growth" on Oct. 8 at 6 p.m. in Baker Center Theater.

Mokyr has served as a professor of economics and history and as the Robert H. Strotz Professor of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University since 1994. He conducts research on the economic history of Europe and specializes in the period 1750-1914. His current research is concerned with the understanding of the economic and intellectual roots of technological progress and the growth of useful knowledge in European societies, as well as the impact that industrialization and economic progress have had on economic welfare.

Mokyr is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Econometric Society, and the Cliometric Society as well as the British Academy, the Italian Accademia dei Lincei and the Dutch Royal Academy. He has been the President of the Economic History Association, editor-in-chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History, and a co-editor of the Journal of Economic History. He is currently co-editor of a book series, "The Princeton University Press Economic History of the World."

Mokyr was the 2006 winner of the biennial Heineken Award for History offered by the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences and the winner of the 2015 Balzan International Prize for economic history. His most recent book is "A Culture of Growth: Origins of the Modern Economy," published by Princeton University Press in 2016. He has supervised over forty doctoral dissertations in the departments of Economics and History at Northwestern.

“We are extremely pleased to have Professor Mokyr at Ohio University,” said Cortney Rodet, director of the George Washington Forum and associate professor of economics in the College of Arts and Sciences at Ohio University. “He has long been a thought-leader in economic history, and his work persuasively demonstrates that the Industrial Revolution and the Great Enrichment were products of not just economic decision making, but of changes to culture, philosophy, and governance.

“His work on the Enlightenment describes the cultural shift toward discovering and applying useful knowledge to improve moral systems, political institutions, and the economic well-being of the masses. I think his talk will remind students and faculty of Ohio University's roots and its mission as an institution where such discovery and application of new knowledge can improve the world.”

This event is free and open to the public.