Course Description

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The Bloomington School, which is most associated with the work of Nobel Prize winner Elinor Ostrom and her husband Vincent Ostrom, is recognized for its innovative bottom-up approach to the study of institutions. By way of its focus on the individual as opposed to the state, however, the Bloomington School emphasizes the capacity of citizens to self-regulate and thereby find the most appropriate solutions to local problems. This course, taught by three professors from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, delves into the main concepts of this school —polycentricity, co-production, self-governance, etc.— and their application to specific cases.

Professor

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Bobbi Herzberg is a distinguished Senior Fellow for the F. A. Hayek Program in Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. She served as assistant director of individual freedom & free markets at the John Templeton Foundation. Bobbi also held a faculty position in political science at Utah State University (USU), where she served as department head in political science and administrative director of The Institute of Political Economy. As a researcher, she is interested in public policy, institutional analysis and public choice theory, especially on the Bloomington School.

Jayme Lemke is an economist and senior research fellow and associate director of academic and student program at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and a Senior Fellow for the F. A. Hayek Program in Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. She specializes in public choice economics, institutional analysis, and the political economy of women’s rights. Jayme has published articles on public choice and other topics in the Journal of Institutional Economics, Public Choice, and the Review of Austrian Economics.

Paul Aligica is a senior research fellow and senior fellow at the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He has written in a wide variety of academic journals on the topics he specializes, such as institutional theory, public choice, social change, and Austrian economics. Consultant for the United Nations Development Program, the World Bank, European Union (EU) organizations, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). He has authored seven books.

Certification Process

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Universidad Francisco Marroquín’s online course offers digital certification. Validate your achievement and increase your job opportunities.

1. Fill out the form and send it.
2. Upload your profile photo and your official ID (national identity card or passport in .jpg or .png format).
3. Take the exam and send it. Certification is granted for a score of 70 points or higher.
4. You will receive your digital certificate by email.

The digital certificate is not a degree, diploma, or official certification of pedagogical competence.

UFM Students

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The course offers UFM students the opportunity to receive academic credit equivalent to 1 UMA.

1. Send an email to both your department and opencourses@ufm.edu with the following data:
   • Name and description of the course
   • Name of the academic unit offering the course
   • UMA value of the course
   • Course program in attachment
2. Verify that the course fulfills the requirements of your department.
3. Enroll in the course via opencourses.ufm.edu or use the MiU page if you wish to obtain academic credit.
4. Pay 1 UMA at the Banco Industrial branch office on the UFM campus or through Banco Industrial’s online system. The price of each UMA varies and is determined by UFM.
5. Complete the course activities.
6. Pass the course with a score of 61 points or higher on both the activities of the platform and the final paper. The final grade is calculated as follows: 50% for the platform activities and 50% for the final essay.
7. Present a physical copy of the certificate along with your final score to your department.