SIOE awards

Since 2014, the Society for Institutional & Organizational Economics has granted awards in institutional and organizational economics, named after four Nobel Prize winners closely linked to the society. The awards are:

  • A Ronald Coase Best Dissertation Award
  • An Oliver Williamson Best Conference Paper Award, for the best paper delivered at the SIOE conference
  • A Douglass North Best Book Award, for the best published book in institutional and organizational economics published during the previous two years.
  • An Elinor Ostrom Lifetime Achievement Award, for sustained significant academic contributions to the field

An overview of recent award winners is here.


The Ronald H. Coase Dissertation Award:

Ronald H. Coase
  • Anyone may nominate a dissertation.
  • To be eligible, the PhD would have to be awarded in the previous calendar year
  • Candidates will be asked to submit a 5 page abstract and have sent (under separate cover) a letter from an advisor or Ph.D. committee member explaining the contribution of the dissertation.
  • A four person Coase Award Committee will be chosen from the Board to review entries and choose a shortlist of finalists.
  • Finalists will be required to submit their full dissertation, from which the Committee will choose a winner
  • The Committee will be selected at the annual Board meeting. Each Committee member will serve twice, with terms staggered so that half of any given committee will have served during the previous round.
  • This award was first awarded in 2014 and will be given every year.

The Oliver E. Williamson Best Conference Paper Award:

Oliver E. Williamson
  • Award is open to all papers individually accepted for presentation and given at SIOE’s annual meeting.
  • A sub-group of four members of the Program Committee will shortlist five papers. The subgroup will be chosen by the Committee Chair
  • The winner will be chosen from the finalists by vote of the entire Program Committee.
  • The award was first awarded in 2014 and will be given every year.

 The Douglass North Best Book Award:

Douglass C. North
  • For the best book in institutional and organizational economics published during the previous two years.
  • The entry must have been published in English by a recognized press.
  • Nominations may come from any academic other than the author(s) of the work, and must include a letter explaining the reasons for the nomination.
  • Book nominations must include an electronic copy of the front matter (title page, copyright page, preface, and table of contents).
  • Copies of the top three short listed books may be requested by the committee from the Press, the author, or the nominator.
  • A four person North Award Committee will be chosen from the Board to review submissions and pick the winner
  • The Committee will be selected at the annual Board meeting. Each Committee member will serve twice, with terms staggered so that half of any given committee will have served during the previous round
  • The award was first handed out in 2014 and will be given every second year.

The Elinor Ostrom Lifetime Achievement Award:

Elinor Ostrom
  • For sustained significant academic contributions to institutional and organizational economics. Open to anyone.
  • Recommendations to come from current and former SIOE officers and Board members. Recommendations may also come from members of the academic community.
  • Nominations must include an electronic letter detailing the reasons for the nomination and a copy of the CV of the nominated individual.
  • The SIOE Secretary will compile the list of nominations. 
  • The winner will be chosen by a vote of the entire Board. 
  • The award will be awarded for the first time in 2015, and be handed out every second year thereafter.