Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson have won the Nobel Prize in Economics 2009. Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson’s Nobel Prize in Economics were awarded for their analysis in economic governance – she for “her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons” and he for “his analysis of economic governance, especially the boundaries of the firm”. This was announced earlier today.

Elinor Ostrom is the first woman to win the prize since it was founded in 1968, and the fifth woman to win a Nobel award this year, the most number
of women to be awarded in a year ever. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences cited Ostrom for demonstrating how common property can be successfully managed by groups using it. “Elinor Ostrom has challenged the conventional wisdom that common property is poorly managed and should be either regulated by central authorities or privatized,” the academy said. “Based on numerous studies of user-managed fish stocks, pastures, woods, lakes, and groundwater basins, Ostrom concludes that the outcomes are, more often than not, better than predicted by standard theories.”

Oliver Williamson, on the other hand, was cited for arguing that markets and hierarchical organizations, such as firms, represent alternative governance structures that differ in their approaches to resolving conflicts of interest.

This is the last Nobel Prize to be awarded this year. Nobel Prize winners receive 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.4 million), a gold medal and diploma from the Swedish king on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death in 1896. In cases where there are more than one recipients, the prize money is split equally.

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