We have eliminated a lot of local governance in the United States-then complain when people don't know how to engage in a serious, long-standing debate.

Elinor Ostrom is distinguished professor and Arthur F. Bentley Professor of Political Science in the College of Arts and Sciences at IU Bloomington, a professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUB, and senior research director of the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at IU, which she and Vincent Ostrom founded in 1973-74.

Ostrom was awarded the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, which she shared with Oliver E. Williamson, for her analysis of economic governance of the commons.

She is the author of numerous books and articles, including Governing the Commons and Understanding Institutional Diversity.