Elinor Ostrom

High school (ages 12+)
People & Society

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/elinor-ostrom

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Elinor Ostrom born?August 7, 1933
2. Where was Elinor Ostrom born?Los Angeles, California, USA
3. What is the key publication?Co-authored 'Rules, Games, and Common-Pool Resources' (1994)
4. Who was Elinor Ostrom?Elinor Ostrom was a brilliant scholar who studied how people can share and protect nature's treasures together.
5. What did Elinor Ostrom show about sharing resources?She proved that communities can manage shared resources like forests, fisheries, and water by setting up their own rules and working together.

Common-pool resources: Resources characterized by non-excludability and subtractability, making them prone to overuse without effective governance.
New Institutional Economics: An economic school of thought emphasizing the role of institutions, rules, and organizations in shaping economic behavior and outcomes.
Collective Action: The process by which a group of individuals works together to achieve a common goal, often overcoming individual incentives to free-ride.
Governance: The process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented or not implemented.