Only 1 woman has won Nobel in Economic Sciences in 49 years

American economist Elinor Ostrom is the only woman to have ever been awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences since its inception in 1968. Ostrom, who shared the $1.44 million prize with another American economist in 2009, was recognized "for her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons". She studied how small, local communities manage their shared natural resources.