Elinor Ostrom

Elinor Ostrom was an American political economist renowned for her groundbreaking work on how communities manage shared resources, like forests or fisheries, without central regulation or privatization. Unlike the common belief that people always act selfishly, she showed that local groups can effectively self-organize to solve collective problems. Her research highlighted the importance of cooperative management, social norms, and local governance. In 2009, she became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, recognizing her contributions to understanding how communities can sustainably manage common resources.