"This will undoubtedly be a very popular, much-assigned, and much-cited magnum opus."--Carl Simon, University of Michigan

"What emerges from Elinor Ostrom's book is precisely what the title suggests---an understanding of the diverse nature of institutions that exist in human societies to promote human cooperation or to hinder it. This is a significant work by one of the most thoughtful social scientists in the world and it will attract a large number of readers and enlighten them."--Peter Boettke, George Mason University

Elinor Ostrom is the Arthur F. Bentley Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, and the Center for the Study of Institutions, Population, and Environmental Change at Indiana University, Bloomington. Her books include Governing the Commons: Rules, Games, and Common-Pool Resources (with Roy Gardner and James Walker); Heterogeneity and Cooperation in Two Domains (with Robert Keohane); Trust and Reciprocity: Interdisciplinary Lessons from Experimental Research (with James Walker); The Commons in the New Millennium: Challenges and Adaptations (with Nives Dolsak), and Foundations of Social Capital (with T. K. Ahn).