"This textbook will discuss
the main framework, concepts and applications of the work of Elinor Ostrom and
her colleagues for an undergraduate audience. We began teaching a course on
collective and the commons in 2007 at Arizona State
University. Initially we
made use of Ostrom’s classic book “Governing the Commons”, but this book was
not written for an undergraduate audience. Moreover, many new insights have
been developed since the 1990 publication of “Governing the Commons”. Therefore
we decided to write our own textbook, which we have been using since the Spring
of 2012.
In this book you will learn
about institutions–the rules and norms that guide the interactions among us. Those
rules and norms can be found from traffic rules, rules in sports, regulations
on when and where alcohol can be consumed, to constitutional rules that define
who can become president of the United
States of America. Rules and norms guide us
to cooperative outcomes of so-called collective action problems. If we rely on
voluntary contributions only to get anything done, this may not lead to the
best results. But research also shows that coercion of people to comply to
strict rules do not necessary lead to good outcomes. What combination of sticks
and carrots is needed to be successful to solve collective action problems such
as sustaining the commons?
The book is based on the work of Elinor Ostrom and her colleagues. Ostrom is best known as the 2009 co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics “for her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons”. Elinor Ostrom was a professor at Indiana University since the mid 1960s, and a part-time research professor at Arizona State University since 2006. She was active in research and teaching until her death at the age of 78 on June 12, 2012."
More information on the
work of Elinor Ostrom can be found at:
Nobel Prize websiteWebsite at Indiana University
Some related websites you may find of interest:
Center for the Study of Institutional Diversity (CSID), Arizona State University – the authors’ research center.
The Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, Indiana University – the research center founded by the Ostroms in 1973.
International Association to Study the Commons – an international society for scholars who study the commons.
Examples of commons:
www.cancercommons.org
www.creativecommons.org
www.commonsrising.ning.com
www.otherworldsarepossible.org/defending-global-commons
www.onthecommons.org
www.flickr.com/commons/
Cuadro sobre tipos de reglas como variables exógenas que
afectan a una situación, incluido en el libro:
