Do You Want to Know More about Nobel Prize-winning Economist – Professor Elinor Ostrom?

Your answer must be "Yes, I do". Then you should read this book Challenging Institutional Analysis and Development: The Bloomington School written by George Mason University's Professor Peter Boettke and the Mercatus Center's Senior Research Fellow Paul Aligica.

This book explores the Bloomington School of Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) represented by a couple of outstanding scholars – Vincent and Elinor Ostrom. The name of the Bloomington School comes from its geographical location because both Vincent and Elinor Ostrom are associated with the Indiana University at Bloomington. Professor Boettke and Professor Aligica write that the truly distinctive and unique nature of the Bloomington School has been misunderstood because of its association with a mainstream rational-choice research. The Bloomington School has its own style of scientific inquiry that mixes both fundamental economic and political studies with applied research. For instance, Professor Elinor Ostrom's seminal book Governing the Commons shows how a thorough field work can help a scientist in answering the most fundamental economic issues such as coordination, cooperation, and rationality. An innovative approach to a scientific inquiry made the Bloomington School become one of the most dynamic and world-known centers of the New Institutional Theory movement. The Bloomington School of IAD offers not only innovative but also groundbreaking concepts and theory within its broader philosophy of scientific inquiry. That's why Peter Boettke and Paul Aligica focus on the scientific dimensions of the IAD research system. Their book presents a systematic analysis of the Bloomington School by explaining its basic assumptions, its main themes, and its main methodology.

I recommend this book not only to students and social science scholars but also to the international development community. It's a must-read book!