In 2009 NOBEL Prize Economics went to two Americans who distinguished themselves by thinking outside the box and articulating their work through a qualitative methodology.

The economics profession did not expect the prizes to go to individuals who were not rigorous in a mathematical sense, as economics schools have been captured for a very long time by individuals who are obsessed in presenting economics ideas, thoughts and theories in elegant mathematical terms.

One of the prize winners is not even a practicing economist. Elinor Ostrom is a political scientist by training and as she is from Indiana University, is not of Ivy League pedigree. The other co-winner is Oliver Williamson from the University of California, Berkeley.

Well-known blogger and Harvard University professor Gregory Mankiw gave Williamson a one-in-50 chance of winning the prize. Mankiw’s favorite was Eugene Fama, who developed the efficient-market hypothesis (EMH) which, according to Lawrence