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Williamson Prize

The Journal of Law Economics and Organization Williamson Prize


The Editor, Yale University, and Oxford University Press (OUP) are pleased to announce the establishment of the Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization Oliver E. Williamson Prize for Best Article. This annual prize will award $1,500 to the author of the most original and innovative paper accepted for publication in JLEO during the year preceding the award.

All contributors to JLEO are eligible for the award, irrespective of their age. Preference, however, will be given to younger scholars. The current Editor, Co-editors, and Members of the Editorial Board of JLEO cannot be considered for the award.

The selection will be made by the Editor and Co-Editors. A short-list of three best articles will be drawn up by the Editor and Co-Editors of JLEO, from which a winning paper will be chosen. The Editor and Co-Editors may choose not to award the prize and hold it over for a subsequent year if, in their view, the papers submitted do not reach the standards required.

2012 Oliver E. Williamson Prize for Best Article in Law, Economics and Organization


The Editor and Co-Editors of the Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization, together with Yale University and Oxford University Press, are pleased to announce the award of the second annual Oliver E. Williamson Prize for Best Article in JLEO to Bart J. Wilson, Taylor Jaworski, Karl E. Schurter, and Andrew Smyth for their article entitled "The Ecological and Civil Mainsprings of Property: An Experimental Economic History of Whalers’ Rules of Capture." Read the prize-winning paper for free here.

The Editors also want to recognize the following authors whose papers were part of the Award short-list:

  • Peter Iliev and Ivo Welch, "A Model of Operational Slack: The Short-Run, Medium-Run, and Long-Run Consequences of Limited Attention Capacity" Read the paper for FREE here.
  • Ricard Gil and Justin Marion, "Self-Enforcing Agreements and Relational Contracting: Evidence from California Highway Procurement" Read the paper for FREE here.

2011 Oliver E. Williamson Prize for Best Article in Law, Economics and Organization


The first annual Oliver E. Williamson Prize for Best Article in JLEO was awarded to Eleonora Patacchini, from Universita di Roma "La Sapienza" and Yves Zenou, from Stockholm University and IFN, for their article entitled "Juvenile Delinquency and Conformism." Click here to read the prize-winning paper for free.

The paper was selected from all papers accepted for publication during 2009 and 2010. Apart from the recognition, the Award includes a monetary prize of $1,500.

The Editors also want to recognize the following authors whose papers were part of the 2011 Award short-list:

The Editor and Publisher are happy to answer any questions about the JLEO Williamson Prize.

Pablo Spiller, Editor, JLEO - spiller@haas.berkeley.edu

Rhodri Jackson, Assistant Publisher, OUP – rhodri.jackson@oup.com