Tensions in Political Economy

Elinor C. Ostrom won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2009, with recognition for her path-breaking work on institutions organized to address common-pool resource settings. She and her collaborator and spouse, Vincent Ostrom, contested the scholarship of mainstream political economy, public administration, and public policy in their quest to understand how individuals resolve a variety of social dilemmas. Ostrom's work challenged the belief that a system of governance based on expert public officials could perform better and should a priori be preferred to a system based on citizens' self-governance. Like any great and productive scholar, her body of work includes tensions, flaws, and inconsistencies that must be confronted by scholars looking to engage, critique, and advance her distinctive project in political economy. Starting from the recognition that Ostrom's work remains open for contestation and improvement, Ostrom's Tensions: Reexamining the Political Economy and Public Policy of Elinor C. Ostrom presents a critical assessment of Ostrom's research and ideas. The contributions to this edited volume, which include original chapters by several of Ostrom's colleagues and students, identify sources of tension within her writing. The research program Ostrom developed continues as an open-ended project advancing adaptable models and polycentric governance solutions rather than static models and one-size-fits-all policies. Taken as a whole, this volume identifies important questions and areas for future research by the next generation of political economists.

Hayek's research highlights the importance and dispersed nature of knowledge, advancing an interdisciplinary approach to understanding human behavior. Like any great and productive scholar, he left behind a body of work that includes tensions, flaws, and inconsistencies that must be, confronted by scholars looking to engage, critique, and advance his distinctive project in political economy. Hayek's work is important but also open for contestation and improvement. Hayek's Tensions: Reexamining the Political Economy and Philosophy of F. A. Hayek presents a critical assessment of Hayek's research and ideas and identifies sources of tension within his writing. The contributions to this edited volume include original chapters by eminent scholars of complexity theory, of Austrian economics, and of Hayek himself. The book's key takeaway is that the research program Hayek developed continues as an open-ended project, both as a social-scientific approach and as a classical liberal vision of a free society, rather than as a static dogma or set of theories from a bygone era. Taken as a whole, this volume identifies important questions and areas for future research by the next generation of political economists.

James M. Buchanan, Nobel Laureate in Economics and one of the premier political economists of the 20th-century, was at the heart of the emergence of public choice theory and the reintroduction of politics to academic economic analysis. Like any great and productive scholar, his body of work includes tensions, flaws, and inconsistencies that must be confronted by scholars looking to engage, critique, and advance his distinctive project in political economy. Buchanan's work is important but also open for contestation and improvement. Buchanan's Tensions: Reexamining the Political Economy and Philosophy of James M. Buchanan presents a critical assessment of Buchanan's research and ideas. The contributions to this edited volume, which include original chapters by several of Buchanan's coauthors and students, identify sources of tension within his writing. The book's key takeaway is that the research program Buchanan developed continues as an open-ended project, both as a social scientific approach and as a classical liberal political vision of constitutional order, rather than a static dogma or fruitless dead end. Taken as a whole, this volume identifies important questions and areas for future research by the next generation of constitutional political economists.