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Summary
Oliver Williamson of University of California at Berkeley was awarded the Nobel prize in economics in recognition for his analysis of conflict resolution by firms and markets. Williamson shared the prize with Elinor Ostrom of Indiana University, the first woman ever to be awarded a Nobel prize in economics. Williamson did much of his key work in the 1970s and he showed how hierarchical organizations could thrive because they were effective at resolving conflicts and in some ways were more efficient than market-based systems.
