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The first woman to receive a Nobel Prize in economics
Elinor Ostrom was born in the United States in
1933 and died in 2012.
A political science researcher, the work of
Ostrom is a challenge to the traditional theories
that maintain that common property, such as
forests, lakes, pastures, or irrigation systems
are managed poorly by their users, and in need
of a state intervention or privatization.
Elinor was professor of Political Science and
co-director of the “Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis” at Indiana University.
She was also the founding director of the
Centre for the Study of Institutional Diversity at
Arizona State University.
Elinor analysed numerous studies on user
management of these goods and observed that
the results contradicted conventional theories.
In many occasions, the beneficiaries develop
sophisticated mechanisms for decision making
and effective rules for resolving conflicts of
interest. This has made the preservation of
these common goods possible, and avoided
the degradation of the environment.
She was awarded the Nobel in Economics in
2009, for her theories on th e management of
shared resources, or The Commons, being
the first woman to win the prize in this field.