Elinor Ostrom, Dies at Age 78

Elinor Ostrom has passed away today, June 12, 2012 from Pancreatic cancer at the Univeristy of Indiana, Bloomington hospital.

Ostrom was a special part of the UCLA Political Science Department family. She received her BA, MA and Ph.D. from our department before going on to become a professor at the University of Indiana, Bloomington in 1974.

In 2009 Ostrom became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economics for "her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons," according to the Nobel Prize website. Ostrom's work showed that informal groups of ordinary people can sometimes manage natural resources more effectively than governments or private companies; this was a line of work which she began to explore in her Ph.D. dissertation at UCLA.

Despite having already attained the highest of accolades, Ostrom continued to work even after her cancer diagnosis. To read her most recent article, which was published just today, click here.

Elinor Ostrom will always be remembered for her outstanding contributions to the disciplines of both Economics and Political Science. Our thoughts are with her family, friends and colleagues at the University of Indiana, Bloomington.

To read the official obituary for Professor Ostrom, published in the Washington Post, click here.

To read her autobiography as well as the details of her Nobel Prize, click here.

To read the announcement published by the University of Indiana, Bloomington, click here.