Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Paul Romer on Elinor Ostrom and Crucial Assumptions


Paul Romer makes some interesting comments on Elinor Ostrom's Nobel Prize win. He points out that many or most economic theories depend on what he calls "skyhooks" - what I called "crucial assumptions". According to Romer assuming that people follow rules is a typical "skyhook". Rather than assuming that people would follow rules, Ostrom tried to understand where the rules came from and why they worked or didn't work. Well, I think you must have some assumptions in your research. But they should be as innocuous and reasonable as possible.

Rather a contrast to Steven Levitt's comments for example. Let alone these guys :). Of course I've heard of Ostrom. My "Ostrom number" is 2.*

Peter Martin, who supplied the link to Romer, also has a more humorous take.

* She has coauthored papers with Bob Costanza.

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