Join Me in a Toast for the First Woman Nobel Prize Winner

[NJCher]

I was so moved when I saw we had our first female Nobel prize winner today. As I looked at that gray hair and older face, I thought, "Finally. Now we have a picture of an older woman who has contributed so much that she won this highly prestigious prize." OK, I'll admit it: I burst into tears with pride that a female academic had won this prize.



So often older women are not even seen; it is like they are not there. Older actresses in particular comment on this, as they find a lack of roles to play as they move on in years.

I have excerpted a couple passages from The New York Times about her. It is worth noting that she and the other prizewinner have shown that the good Democratic principles that we all hold dear on this forum are backed by research.
First, about her, and then her work:
snip

Ms. Ostrom, 76, was born in Los Angeles, and received her Ph.D. in political science in 1965 from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is the Arthur F. Bentley professor of political science at Indiana University, Bloomington. She is also co-director of the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis. Mr. Williamson, 77, was born in Superior, Wis., and received his Ph.D. in economics in 1963 from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He is the Edgar F. Kaiser professor emeritus of business, economics and law and a professor at the graduate school of business at the University of California, Berkeley.

The prize committee, in making the awards, seemed to be influenced by the credit crisis and the severe recession that in the minds of many mainstream economists has highlighted the shortcomings of a unregulated marketplace, in which “economic actors,” left to their own devices, will act in their own self-interests and in doing so, will enhance everyone’s well-being.


The committee, in effect, said that theory was too simplistic and ignored the unstated relationships and behaviors that develop among companies that are competitors but find ways to resolve common problems. “Both scholars have greatly enhanced our understanding of non-market institutions” other than government, the committee said.

snip

more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/business/economy/13nobel.html?_r=1&hp

So very interesting that the prize committee didn't stop with Obama in their repudiation of bushco.

I am looking forward to biographical articles in the academic journals about Professor Ostrom.


Cher

[BlueIris]

1. Toasting. nt

[MorningGlow]

2. Hooray!

Thanks for the post, Cher. Amazing that it's taken this long for a woman to win!

[omega minimo]

3. What did she win for?

[Kind of Blue]

5. Nobel Prize in Economics.

:hi:

[omega minimo]

7. It's great news but the FIRST? in a HUNDRED EIGHT years?

:wow:

[Kind of Blue]

10. First in economics.

It certainly is a big :wow: :rofl:

[Kind of Blue]

4. What a pleasant surprise! Listening to NPR this early morning

discussing the candidates and Ms. Ostrom's name never even entered the conversation :toast: Thanks for posting.

[Delphinus]

6. Salute!

Or however it's spelled in Russian.

I love it that others see the shortcomings of an unregulated marketplace - a lot of us who have earned PhDs through the hard knocks of life can see this quite clearly.

Cheers!

[japple]

8. There are many female Nobel Laureates, but Ms. Ostrom is the

first woman winner for Economics.

http://nobelprizes.com/nobel/women.html

[Kind of Blue]

9. No wonder she wasn't mentioned in reports

I heard this early A.M. You'd think that they would at least mention her, given that if she were the winner it would be (and is) a rather special choice.

I'm sure it caught reporters by surprise, sort of like the Obama pick :)