Premier Economist Peter Howitt to Speak at Wilfrid Laurier University

Wilfrid Laurier University students gear up to hear a once-in-a-lifetime talk from Peter Howitt, one of Canada’s most eminent social scientists. The talk entitled, Innovation and Growth through Creative Destruction will be held on Wednesday, June 15^th from 4:30 – 5:30 pm at the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo.

Not only is Howitt one of the most prominent economists in the world, he’s also a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a past president of the Canadian Economic Association. His talk will be followed by the bestowal of an honorary degree from Wilfrid Laurier on June 16^th during Spring Convocation.

In a press release from the university, Jurek Konieczny, Professor of Economics at the Lazaridis School of Business, spoke about Howitt’s many achievements.

“Over his 40-year academic career, Peter Howitt has made numerous important contributions to economics, in particular to the development of modern growth theory,” he said. “Howitt’s theory focuses on the role of innovation, and incentives to innovate, in the process of economic growth. This is of particular importance to the Waterloo Region, which thrives on innovation. We are very pleased to have Peter Howitt speaking here.”

Howitt is considered a co-founder of the modern innovation-based theory of economic growth. His approach focuses on creative destruction, which is the process of industrial change where technological and scientific innovation provides new knowledge to replace old know-how. Because of his work, in 2014 Thompson-Reuters selected him as the leading candidate for the Novel Prize in Economic Sciences.

The public is welcome to attend to talk which is being presented by the Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis, and the Department of Economics, Institute for the Management of Technology Enterprises, and the Executive Master’s in Technology Management at the Lazaridis School.

Register to attend the talk today.

regions: Toronto

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