Elinor Ostrom

We need to study actual field settings to understand how institutions evolve.

Trust is built through repeated interactions and monitoring.

Central governments often fail to manage local resources effectively.

Communities can design rules that fit their specific contexts better than top-down regulations.

The commons are not doomed; they can be governed sustainably.

I was fortunate to have mentors who encouraged me to think independently.

Economics should be about understanding human cooperation, not just competition.

Field experiments reveal that people often choose cooperation over self-interest.

Institutions are the rules of the game in a society.

Sanctions must be graduated to encourage compliance without excessive punishment.

Local knowledge is crucial for effective resource management.

The world is full of successful common-pool resource institutions that we can learn from.

Women often play key roles in managing household and community resources.

Rigorous analysis of long-enduring institutions is essential for policy design.

Overly simplistic models lead to misguided policies.

Cooperation emerges from nested enterprises at multiple levels.

I believe in the capacity of ordinary people to solve extraordinary problems.

Boundaries matter: clear boundaries enhance cooperation.

Monitoring by the users themselves is more effective than external monitoring.

The Nobel Prize was a recognition of collective efforts in the field.