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The photo taken on Oct. 12, 2009 shows the images of the 2009 Nobel Economics Prize winners Oliver Williamson (R) and Elinor Ostrom displayed by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden. U.S. economists Oliver Williamson and Elinor Ostrom won the 2009 Nobel prize for economics for their work in economic governance. (Xinhua/Wu Ping)
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- This year's Nobel Economics Prize, given to two American scholars who have made great contributions to the new institutional economics (NIE), is more a merit of the past, said a Washington economist on Monday.
Elinor Ostrom, 76, a political scientist at Indiana University, became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in economics, honored along with fellow American Oliver Williamson, 77, from University of California Berkeley for analyzing economic governance -- the rules by which people exercise authority in companies and economic systems.
Both are considered masters for the influential new institutional economics during the past several decades, with their books being the must-read for students in this field.
New institutional economics is an economic perspective that attempts to extend economics by focusing on the social and legal norms and rules that underlie economic activity. The term NIE was coined by Oliver Williamson, co-winner of this year's award, in 1975.
"I'm familiar with the work of Ostrom and Williamson and they both made important contributions," Derek Scissors, research fellow of the Heritage Foundation, an American think tank based in Washington, told Xinhua in an interview.
"Both of the winners are older and their Prize-winning work is behind them. So it is hard to see this as a victory for current new institutional economics. It is more a calling of attention to the past contributions of new institutional economics," Scissors said.
It is valuable for the Nobel Committee to recognize a woman, he observed.
"There may be some complaint that the Nobel is becoming a prize for social scientists, rather than just economists, but that is a rational path to follow given the shrinking talent pool in economics," Scissors commented.
Scissors said that this award was a sharp contrast to this year's Nobel Peace Prize, whose laureate was U.S. President Barack Obama. That prize was more considered as a calling of the future action.
"The Nobel committee is faced with the problem that they award prizes faster than new, great economists can emerge," he said.
However, he said he believed that the recent Nobel winners could not compete with some past laureates.
"In 1972, John Hicks and Kenneth Arrow were joint winners. You can make a good case that either one of Hicks or Arrow is more qualified than the most recent three winners put together," Scissors explained.
John Hicks from British Oxford University and Kenneth Arrow from Harvard University shared the 1972 Nobel Economics Prize for their pioneering contributions to general economic equilibrium theory and welfare theory.
Two U.S. economists win Nobel Prize for economics
STOCKHOLM, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Elinor Ostrom and Oliver E. Williamson, both from the United States, won the 2009 Nobel Prize for economics for their analysis of economic governance, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced Monday.
Ostrom was awarded "for her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons," and Williamson won the prize "for his analysis of economic governance, especially the boundaries of the firm," the academy said in a statement. Full story
Ostrom flabbergasted to get news of winning Nobel Prize
CHICAGO, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Elinor Ostrom, a professor at Indiana University, said Monday Morning that she was "flabbergasted" to get the news that she received the Nobel Prize. "It was a fantastic surprise and a thrilling one," she said. "I'm very appreciative."
"This is fantastic news," said IU President Michael A. McRobbie." Professor Ostrom has won widespread recognition from around the world for her very original research and scholarship. For her to win the Nobel Prize is fully appropriate."
Ostrom is the first women to win Nobel Prize in the economic sciences category, which has been awarded since 1968. Her award recognizes her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons. Full story
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