Elinor Ostrom and the Bloomington School of Political Economy

Elinor (Lin) Ostrom was awarded the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for her pathbreaking research on "economic governance, especially the commons"; but she also made important contributions to several other fields of political economy and public policy. The range of topics she covered and the multiple methods she used might convey the mistaken impression that her body of work is disjointed and incoherent.

This four-volume compendium of papers written by Lin, alone or with various coauthors (most
notably including her husband and partner, Vincent), supplemented by others expanding
on their work, brings together the common strands of research that serve to tie her impressiveoeuvretogether. Thatoeuvre,together with Vincent's own impressive body of work, has come to define a distinctive school of political-economic thought, the "Bloomington School."

Each of the four volumes is organized around a central theme of Lin's work. Volume 1 explores the roles played by the conceptpolycentricityin the disciplines of public administration, political science, and other forms of political economy. Polycentricity denotes a complex system of governance in which public authorities, citizens, and private organizations work together to establish and enforce the rules that guide their behavior. Itencapsulates an approach toward policy analysis that blurs standard disciplinary boundaries between the social sciences.

Throughout their long and remarkably productive careers, Elinor and Vincent Ostrom never tired of reminding us of the capacity of ordinary humans to transcend their own limitations by engaging with others in the myriad forms of collective action required to build and sustain a self-governing society. Their careers stand as exemplars of the proper relationship between rigorous scholarship and responsible citizenship.

DANIEL H. COLEis professor of law and professor of public and environmental affairs at Indiana University Bloomington, where he also serves on the affiliated faculty of the Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis.

MICHAEL D. MCGINNISis professor of political science at Indiana University Bloomington. He is a senior research fellow (and former director) of the Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis.

PART III: A NEW VISION FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
7 Public Choice: A Different Approach to the Study of Public
Administration 165
Vincent Ostrom and Elinor Ostrom
8 Alternative Approaches to the Organization of Public
Proprietary Interests 189
Vincent Ostrom
9 Executive Leadership, Authority Relationships, and
Public Entrepreneurship 217
Vincent Ostrom
10 Artisanship and Artifact 233
Vincent Ostrom
11 Refl ections on Vincent Ostrom, Public Administration, and
Polycentricity 251
Michael D. McGinnis and Elinor Ostrom
PART IV: LESSONS FOR THE STUDY AND PRACTICE
OF POLITICS
12 Elinor Ostrom: Politics as Problem-Solving in Polycentric
Settings 281
Michael D. McGinnis
13 Converting Threats into Opportunities 307
Elinor Ostrom
14 A Frequently Overlooked Precondition of Democracy:
Citizens Knowledgeable about and Engaged in
Collective Action 337
Elinor Ostrom
Index353
Contributors000