Congratulations to both Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson, who were just awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics for their work in the area
of economic governance.
The BBC story is here and the Wall Street Journal has it here
More on the work of these two below the fold.
This year, the Nobel in Economics (won last year by Paul Krugman for his work on trade) went to two scholars working more on the micro, not macro, side of economics, with these two's work focusing on the area of economic governance.
American political scientist Elinor Ostrom of Indiana University focused on small communities and the issue of "the commons". Specifically Dr. Ostrom's work has focused on the interaction between humans and the ecosystem, and how cooperation can ensure sustainable resource use patterns. Her work has also highlighted instances where resource use was unsustainable and led to ecosystem collapse.
Here is her 1990 work through Cambridge University Press, entitled "Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action (Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions)" on .Amazon for those interested in reading more about the area of her work. Dr. Ostrom has also focused on institutions, and I found this particular work on the institutions involved in irrigation provision particularly interesting - also from Amazon
Dr. Ostrom is a political scientist with a focus on the political economy involved in economics, and her area of work seems very relevant to the economic and developmental challenges we are facing. I'm off to order some of her work to read.
Dr. Ostrom shares the Nobel with Oliver Williamson, an American from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Williamson's work focused on the behavior and boundaries of firms. His past work focused on information, and on transaction costs, and this work was about why you may want decisions taken by firms rather than by individuals, and what differences that might bring to economic decision-taking. Not being an economist, I haven't spent the time to read much about his work. I'm hoping our economic friends here can add some insight into his work.
BBC just noted that the Nobel Committee chose an area of economics where its credibilility was not damaged by the economic meltdown - I suppose that is a possible reason, but in particular the work of Dr. Ostrom seems very relevant to today's challenges. And of course, it's always nice to see a woman break a barrier and become the first to achieve something of this nature.
Congratulations to both Dr. Ostrom and Dr. Williamson!