Americans Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson won the Nobel Economics Prize for their analyses of economic governance and also set Nobel landmarks. Elinor Ostrom became the first woman to win the Nobel Economics Prize since its founding in 1968. With Ostrom’s win, she became the fifth woman to win a Nobel award this year, thus marking the year with most female Nobel winners.

Nobel Economics Prize winner Elinor Ostrom.

Economic governance was defined, to some extent, as the way authority is exercised in companies and economic systems. Ostrom’s career involved her studies of the interaction of people and natural resources. Surprised to win the Nobel Economics Prize, Ostrom stated:

“There are many, many people who have struggled mightily and to be chosen for this prize is a great honor.”

Oliver Williamson, on the other hand, developed a theory where businesses can serve as avenues to resolve conflicts. The works of these Nobel Economics Prize winners reveal how economic analysis can determine most forms of social organization. The academy lauded the Nobel Economics Prize winners, stating:

“Over the last three decades, these seminal contributions have advanced economic governance research from the fringe to the forefront of scientific attention.”