Nobel Economics Prize Recognizes Success of Liberty

Nobel Economics Prize Recognizes Success of Liberty

Statement by Fred L. Smith, Jr., President of the Competitive Enterprise Institute

Washington, D.C., October 13, 2009―The Nobel Prize for Economics was awarded Monday to two economists whose work focused on the success of institutions of liberty.

Statement by Fred L. Smith, Jr., President of the Competitive Enterprise Institute

Awarding the Economics Nobel Prize in Economics to Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson is a brilliant choice. Their work follows the lead of Ronald Coase (himself a Nobel laureate), who showed that the institutions of liberty extend beyond the market concepts of buying and selling.

Williamson, like Coase, sought to understand the reasons why firms take on the structures that they do. His work is a welcome warning of the dangers that overzealous antitrust regulators can pose to economic growth.

Eilinor Ostrom’s work has focused on the ways in which traditional societies manage commons. Her work makes clear that property rights evolve in response to scarcity.

CEI’s work on environmental and competition policy relates closely to the works of both these award recipients. Congratulations to both! http://www.openmarket.org/2009/10/13/three-cheers-for-the-nobel-economic… “>>Read the full statement on OpenMarket.org.