In 2009 Elinor Ostrom was awarded the Nobel memorial prize in economic sciences with another American, Oliver Williamson. Professor Ostrom is unusual among laureates in that she is not an economist, and unique — so far — in that she is female. She is a political scientist and joins several mathematicians and a psychologist among the prizewinners. She was awarded the prize for ‘her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons’, while Williamson received it for ‘his analysis of economic governance, especially the boundaries of the firm’. Evidently 2009 was the year for ‘economic governance’, a fairly recent term for the structure and functioning of the legal and social institutions that support economic activity and economic transactions.
Elinor was born Elinor Awan on 7 August 1933 in Los Angeles, California. Her father was a set designer for the Hollywood Bowl and Civic Light Opera and her mother was a musician. Elinor, or ‘Lin’, as she is known, had an early ambition to become a ballerina but flat feet proved a handicap. When Lin’s parents divorced she remained with her mother. It was the era of the Great Depression and the Second World War and their food came from the backyard ‘victory garden’.
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