Oliver E. Williamson - Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences

Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences

In 2009, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences cited Williamson and Elinor Ostrom to share the 10-million Swedish kronor (£910,000; $1.44m) prize. They were awarded the "prize for their separate work in economic governance." Williamson, in the BBC's paraphrase of the academy's reasoning, "developed a theory where business firms served as structures for conflict resolution." He has argued that hierarchical organizations, such as companies, represent alternative governance structures, which differ in their approaches to resolving conflicts of interest.

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