June 1, 2005
Self-Governance, Polycentrism, and Federalism
Recurring Themes in Vincent Ostrom's Scholarly Oeuvre
Richard Wagner
Distinguished Senior Fellow, F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics and Economics
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To speak with a scholar or learn more on this topic, visit our contact page.This paper addresses Vincent Ostrom's treatment of self-governance, polycentrism, and federalism through which he has generated a coherent vision of political economy. After examining some ontological and epistemological presuppositions that are central to his work, the rest of the paper explores four topical areas: (1) his examination of knowledge, belief, and the requisites for good civic practice; (2) his conceptualization of a polycentric public economy; (3) his articulation of the problem of public administration through his conceptualization of a municipal services industry; (4) his treatment of federalism as a compound republic rather than simply a form of administrative decentralization.
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