Local Currencies
From P2P Foundation
Definition
From the Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_currency
"In economics, a local currency, in its common usage, is a currency not backed by a national government (and not necessarily legal tender), and intended to trade only in a small area. These currencies are also referred to as community currency. They encompass a wide range of forms, both physically and financially, and often are associated with a particular economic discourse." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_currency)
Advantages
Benefits of Local Currencies, by John Boik in: Creating Sustainable Societies:
"Local currencies offer at least three benefits to a community:
1. Local currencies that have a negative interest should circulate more rapidly than national currencies. As such, the same amount of currency produces a larger economic gain.
2. Local currencies help to keep money within a community. They encourage the purchase of locally produced goods and services. The greater the circulation within a community, the larger the economic benefit to those who live there.
3. Local currencies empower a community to maximize its use of productive resources. For example, a city might have unemployed or underemployed workers, unfilled hotel rooms, half-empty restaurants, and unused productive capacity in factories. Local currencies help communities to take advantage of these unused resources.
In addition to these, a well-designed local currency might provide some hedge against devaluation of the national currency."
Examples
- E.F Schumacher Society Local Currency Library, http://www.smallisbeautiful.org/local_currencies.html
- Complementary Currency Systems and Local Exchange Networks, http://www.transaction.net/money/community/index.html
- Local and Interest-Free or Alternative Currencies, Social Credit and Microcredit, http://www.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/arian/local.html
- Ithaca Hours, Local Currency in Ithaca, NY, http://www.ithacahours.org/
- The Burlington Currency Project – Local Currency in Burlington, Vermont, http://www.burlingtoncurrency.org/
