Douglass North speaks out on 2009 Nobel Prize in economics

Oct. 21, 2009 -- As soon as the Nobel Memorial prize in economics was announced, traditionalists were quick to criticize the choice of two pioneers in the field of New Institutional Economics as unknown and even unworthy of the honor.

On the other hand, Douglass North, a 1993 recipient of the Nobel in economics and professor at Washington University in St. Louis, was delighted with the news that his friends Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson had been recognized for their work in the area of economic governance.

North, considered one of the founding fathers of New Institutional Economics - an interdisciplinary approach to understanding how economic systems and societies work - talks about his fellow Nobel laureates and their research in the accompanying video.

The economics prize is officially known as "The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel". It was announced Oct. 12, 2009.

Elinor Ostrom, Ph.D., is the Arthur F. Bentley Professor of Political Science and Professor at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, both at Indiana University, Bloomington

Oliver Williamson, Ph.D., is the Edgar F. Kaiser Professor Emeritus of Business, Economics and Law and Professor of the Graduate School, both at the University of California, Berkeley

Douglass C. North, Ph.D., is the Spencer T. Olin Professor in Arts and Sciences.