Community Currency Research Articles

The role of networks in determining usage of community currencies in Kenya

ABSTRACTPast studies have attributed the usage of community currencies to government support, community solidarity, business networks and social networks. Using a mixed-methods approach, this paper examines the role of networks in determining the usage of community currencies in an ethnically heterogeneous community. It argues that while networks are important in determining the usage of community currencies, it is not the presence of networks per se that is important, but the types of networks, the level of trust within them and the kind of information passed on within them, as well as the number of networks to which an individual belongs. The paper makes a contribution by offering a more nuanced view of the role of networks in the adoption of community currencies among the poor.

Helmut Kohl and the Monetary Union

Wilfried Loth Helmut Kohl and the Monetary Union Numerous myths have shrouded the path leading to the Treaty of Maastricht. Was the renunciation of the German mark in favor of a European Community currency the price to be paid for German reunification? Or, when the unexpected reunification of the two Germanies rocked Europe in the winter of 1989/90, had the way already been paved for a monetary union thanks to the path dependency within European integration policy and the tenacity of François Mitterrand and his Italian and Spanish allies? Did Helmut Kohl yield all too readily to those tenacities “in order to make progress towards the establishment of a political union?” Should we therefore concur with Kohl’s biographer Hans-Peter Schwarz who speaks of a “tragic figure who wanted to do good and in many cases did so, albeit going too far and trusting too much?”1 These still unanswered questions have become all the more pressing in light of the sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone that has underscored the weaknesses of the Treaty of Maastricht. The only way to get at the heart of these issues and find reliable answers is to take a closer look at Helmut Kohl’s role in the development of the Treaty of Maastricht. The Monetary Union Project In the first few years of Helmut Kohl’s chancellorship, his agenda focused on intensifying the cooperation in monetary policy within Europe.2 The European Monetary System (EMS), which was introduced in 1979, provided greater incentives to establish a monetary union and overcome the crisis of stagflation than the unsuccessful “currency snake” that had been introduced in 1972. Not only did Translation by Christopher Marsh. 1 Hans-Peter Schwarz, Helmut Kohl. Eine politische Biographie, Munich 2012, p. 936; for the argument about the instrumental character of the decision in favor of monetary union, see ibid., p. 935. 2 On the long run-up to the European Monetary Union, see Horst Ungerer, A Concise History of European Monetary Integration. From EPU to EMU, Westport/CT 1997; on the details of the decision-making processes, see Emmanuel Mourlon-Druol, A Europe Made of Money. The Emergence of the European Monetary System, Ithaca/NY 2012; Harold James, Making the European Monetary Union. The Role of the Committee of Central Bank Governors and the Origins of the European Central Bank, Cambridge/MA 2012, and Wilfried Loth, Building Europe. A History of European Unification, Berlin/Boston 2015. 158 Wilfried Loth the participating states agree to limit currency fluctuations to a maximum of 2.25 percent relative to the central rate of their currencies against the US dollar, but also the EMS required governments to intervene in the money markets and adopt fiscal consolidation measures when the limit was in danger of being reached. To ensure the effectiveness of such interventions, the respective governments transferred 20 percent of their gold and currency reserves to the European Monetary Cooperation Fund and the European Currency Unit (ECU) ensured transparency when it came to the financial transactions of the participating countries. The EMS thus created a mechanism that not only enabled countries with weak currencies, such as France, to fight inflation, but also made it possible for Germany to resist the upward pressure on the German mark stemming from the weak US dollar. As a result, the countries of the European Community were able to return to a path of economic growth, uncoupled from the US dollar. The success of the EMS was jeopardized, however, when François Mitterrand took office and decided to introduce a governmental economic stimulus and job creation package early on in his presidency. But, in March 1983, he then switched to a rigid austerity policy, prompting all member states of the EMS, without exception , to prioritize the fight against inflation. Consequently, inflation rates across Europe dropped closer to those of West Germany and the Netherlands, making further monetary adjustments unnecessary . Only Italy and Ireland had to agree to significant devaluations of their currencies: The value of the lira dropped by six percent in July 1985 and that of the Irish pound by eight percent in August 1986. To prevent flight from their currencies , underperforming countries had...

Fostering corporate sustainability in tourism management through social values within collective value co-creation processes

Collective value co-creation is not fully explored in management research. The phenomenon of social value co-creation has not been investigated in detail either, particularly regarding sustainable tourism management. In our work, we investigate the role of social values within the collective value co-creation process, as a key factor for building sustainable tourism management practices able to generate sustainable benefits to all stakeholders. The study setting is Sardex, a complementary currency community based in Sardinia (Italy). By adopting a qualitative methodology, and through face-to-face interviews, the entrepreneurs’ relationships were analysed using dialogue, trust, and reciprocity as core factors of value co-creation within the hospitality and tourism firms grouped in Sardex. Particularly, we explored whether, and to what extent, reciprocity was the salient factor in the process of value co-creation. Findings show that social values, and especially reciprocity, are the backbone of value co-creation: they foster corporate social orientation, which brings together corporate social responsibility and sustainability, and represent our contribution to enrichen theoretical and practical perspectives in this multidimensional field.

Community dock: a new policy approach for altering institutions

When community currencies (CCs) are introduced to activate local economy and community, it is vital to induce local residents to positively participate in CCs. To support spontaneous community development more effectively, we propose a new policy approach named “community dock (CD)” in which community is conceived as an association of not only local residents, but also various organizations, companies and local government. CD is a synthetic method of empowerment evaluation and improvement by which research groups periodically conduct comprehensive checkups to local socioeconomy and subjective satisfactions of residents, and encourage communities to observe the outcomes of such checkups, to evaluate and solve the shared problems by themselves. It is designed as a self-support tool for integrative development of social capitals in local communities. CD is composed of the following four phases: (1) analysis and diagnosis of current performance of socioeconomies of the community, (2) self-estimation on the performance of the community and self-reflection their own internal rules of CC participants, (3) self-alternation of their frames of cognitions, motives, values and norms of CC participants, (4) change of properties of CCs as platform media. The loop of CD is subsumed by media design of CCs. After sufficient times of repetitions of CD, external rules of CCs as platform media can be redesigned to fit the altered internal rules of participants and attain the initial goals effectively. Media design of CCs is situated on the upper level of CD in the whole picture of evolutionist institutional design.

Time Banking: The Missing Link

This study encompasses a thorough literature review of studies on the concept of alternative capital, community currency, time banking, time exchanges and how Time Banks impact the cultural, emotional and social elements of individuals. It also tries to emphasize if alternative money is an inherent need to achieve wholesome capital and if so what factors influence it. The study starts by trying to find various forms of capital and if there exists an inherent need for individuals to look beyond existing currency to alternate forms of capital in order to achieve wholesome satisfaction from capital. It goes further encompassing a thorough literature review of research done on the concepts of alternative capital, community currency, Time Banking, time exchanges and factors dominating the need for such alternate currency exchange systems. The findings focus on the ways in which Time Banks impact the cultural, emotional and social fabric of individuals while, exploring if the concept of Time Banking could be a missing solution for integrated social inclusion of vulnerable communities.

Cyclic motifs in the Sardex monetary network.

From decentralized banking systems to digital community currencies, the way humans perceive and use money is changing1-3, thus creating novel opportunities for solving important economic and social problems. Here, we study Sardex, a fast-growing community currency in Sardinia (involving 1,477 businesses arrayed in a network with 48,170 transactions) using network analysis to shed light on its operation. Based on our experience with its day-to-day operations, we propose performance metrics tailored for Sardex but also to similar economic systems, introduce criteria for identifying prominent economic actors and investigate the interplay between network structure and economic robustness. Leveraging new methods for quantifying network 'cyclic density' and 'k-cycle centrality,' we show that geodesic transaction cycles, where money flows in a circle through the network, are prevalent and that certain nodes have a pivotal role in them. We analyse the transactions within cycles and find that the economic turnover of the involved firms is higher, and that excessive currency and debt accumulations are lower. We also measure a similar, but secondary, effect for nodes and edges that serve as intermediaries to many transactions. These metrics are strong indicators of the success of such mutual credit systems at individual and collective levels.

Co‐evolving supportive networks and perceived community resilience across disaster‐damaged areas after the Great East Japan Earthquake: Selection, influence, or both?

AbstractAfter the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in March 2011, the new community currency experiment for supporting disaster recovery, Fukkou Ouen Chiiki Tsuka, was introduced by community‐based organizations in these earthquake‐damaged areas. However, little is known about how perceived community resilience coevolves with interactions in the disaster recovery process. Using Simultaneous Investigation for Empirical Network Analysis techniques, this study shows the coevolutionary dynamics between perceptions of community resilience and the formation of supportive links among residents through a community currency (“Domo”) in Kamaishi. This study also provides policy implications for how mutual reinforcement between community residents’ engagement in network establishments and building a sense of community resilience among those affected functions as a potential mechanism for facilitating disaster recovery.

Grassroots innovation: The state of the art and future perspectives

Drawing on 87 articles retrieved through a systematic literature review approach, this study aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of grassroots innovations (GIs). It synthesizes the state-of-the-art research on GIs and considers various sectors, the tensions between three different facets of grassroots movements (GMs), and the main forces that drive or hinder GMs. The study finds that community energy, community currency, cohousing, agriculture, and organic food are dominant sectors for grassroots innovations, while GMs work under the tension of three facets: scaling up, sustainability, and success. This study also identifies the main driving forces and hindrances for GMs.

Taxonomy of digital community currency platforms

ABSTRACTCommunity currencies are used to pay for products or services within specific groups defined by geographical boundaries or specific common interests. Financial crises, social emergence in developing countries, and increased access to digital devices have stimulated a growing number of communities worldwide to develop digital currency projects. These projects use technologies ranging from traditional plastic cards to mobile phones and blockchain technologies. Following the design science research approach, this paper analyzes digital community currencies (DCCs) by developing a taxonomy based on platform architecture, governance, transactionality and virtuality. By investigating 22 DCC platforms around the world, 4 groups were distinguished: local, proprietary, commons and cyber. The identification of these four different groups of digital community currencies allows us to better discuss the potentials and limitations of each one of them. The presented taxonomy can be useful to researchers and practitioners both to explain and to design DCC platforms. Discussing each of the emerging categories from the proposed taxonomy helps us to provide insights into DCCs, offering a new theoretical frame for investigating the particular case of digital payment platforms.

Money and the Commons: An Investigation of Complementary Currencies and Their Ethical Implications

The commons is a concept increasingly used with the promise of creating new collective wealth. In the aftermath of the economic and financial crises, finance and money have been criticized and redesigned to serve the collective interest. In this article, we analyze three types of complementary currency (CC) systems: community currencies, inter-enterprise currencies, and cryptocurrencies. We investigate whether these systems can be considered as commons. To address this question, we use two main theoretical frameworks that are usually separate: the “new commons” in organization studies and the “common good” in business ethics. Our findings show that these monetary systems and organizations may be considered as commons under the “common good” framework since they promote the common interest by creating new communities. Nevertheless, according to the “new commons” framework, only systems relying on collective action and self-management can be said to form commons. This allows us to suggest two new categories of commons: the “social commons,” which fit into both the “new commons” and the “common good” frameworks, and the “commercial commons,” which fit the “common good” but not the “new commons” framework. This research advances a new conceptualization of the commons and of the ethical implications of CCs.

Reciprocity in the Co-Production of Public Services: The Role of Volunteering through Community Time Exchange?

Time Credits are a form of community currency based upon the reciprocal exchange of time and represent an interpretation of 'time banking' by a UK social enterprise, Spice. This article sets out the contribution made by research on Time Credits to the theory and practice of co-production in public services. Time Credits are intended to improve wellbeing through volunteering and ultimately increase economic participation. There is a focus on communities exhibiting high levels of deprivation within a small Cambridgeshire town (Wisbech, UK) which is geographically isolated and characterised by low-skilled, agri-food based employment opportunities that attracted high levels of inward migration from the A8 EU accession countries. In separating the rhetoric from the reality of co-production, the research aims to shed some light upon the extent to which such initiatives can realistically engender a shift towards a more reciprocal economy in the context of an ongoing programme of fiscal austerity.

Strategic Alliances or What Alternative? The Bia Kud Chum and Community Culture in Thailand

The article gives a basic insight into the different currents that are part of an alternative development paradigm in Thailand. While a global trend of alternatives as reflected in the post-development critique gained momentum in the 1990s, its agents in Thailand have a much longer history. Taking up the critique of post-development approaches as remaining at a discursive level, rather than actually effecting progressive material social change, this article traces the strategic alliances, junctures and disjunctures among alternative development proponents in the north-eastern province of Yasothon. Only a couple of months after the historic financial crisis hit Thailand, and just after the ‘Sufficiency Economy Philosophy’ – an alternative development paradigm framed by the King – was roughly outlined in December 1997, a small rural community of five villages in the north-eastern district of Kud Chum, with a history of political dissent, started to implement a community currency network. This article suggests that the reactions and dynamics, which the implementation triggered, as well as preceding and subsequent processes of co-optation and collaboration, are very telling in terms of the overall workings of Sufficiency Economy as a political programme. The events tell a story of top-down co-optation, bottom-up strategic alliances, as well as a plethora of other interests and aims on the ground.

Female Circumcision Between Extinction and Diffusion in Red Sea State, Sudan

The Study aims at identifying the quantitative rate of female circumcision in the Red Sea State during June 2016, where the diffusion of such phenomenon expresses the characteristics of the local community. The methodology of the study aimed at recognizing the extent of the diffusion of female circumcision in the ten localities through exploratory survey targeted at the female teachers and the mothers of the girls at the basic level and kindergarten age. The sample of the study consisted of (1060) items taken from (166) kindergarten and (198) basic level schools. The study arrived at main results which are summarized in the extinction of this phenomenon in certain housing units in Portsudan locality (Deim Medina and Darasalam). There are indicators that point to the fact that this phenomenon is dominating rural areas. If we made a comparison between last decade and the existing study, we find that there is remarkable development in the extinction indicator (68-72%). The study presented a number of recommendations; the most important are forming pressing community currencies for the purpose of close surveillance of rural areas, particularly Haya and Dordeib. In conclusion Female genital circumcision is still a serious problem in Red Sea State not only in rural area, but also among people living in urban areas. Elimination of poverty and improvement of education level will contribute to end this harmful phenomenon. Empowerment of people and polices is highly needed and effort should made to end terrible social and cultural norms which indigenize this practice.

Examining Collective Action Through the Capability Approach: The Example of Community Currencies

Collective action—the involvement of a group of people carrying out common and voluntary actions to pursue shared interests—has a high potential to contribute to agency and wellbeing freedom. It is a current and recurrent phenomenon in society, but it is still poorly explained by the Capability Approach (CA). This paper’s main aim is to look more closely at how the CA can be used to better frame, understand and evaluate the impacts of collective action. Based on a discussion of the literature on collective capabilities and agency we suggest extending the perspective of the original approach, mainly through a more explicit distinction between three layers: individual processes, collective action, and social institutions. We argue that such an extension is useful in order to evaluate how collective action can alter wellbeing and agency freedoms. By way of example, we look at community currency (CC) initiatives—trading schemes that are designed and implemented as a supplement to the legal tender money—and employ the three-layered CA to describe and evaluate the effects of acting collectively in such a setting. We also point out what distinguishes such an assessment from other approaches that we have found in the literature on CC. We conclude that a more systematic analysis of collective action through the CA may enable the latter to provide for useful assessments of collective action.

Timebanking in New Zealand as a prefigurative strategy within a wider degrowth movement

Abstract A movement is gaining traction in New Zealand around timebanks, networks of support in which members exchange favors such as gardening, lifts to the supermarket, pet care, language lessons, career advice, or smartphone tutorials. An online currency is used to track these exchanges, with one hour of work earning one time credit. While each transaction may seem commonplace, when timebanks flourish they work to reshape motivations and opportunities for engaging in labor, and relocalize networks of solidarity, friendship, and resources. Participants reported examples of developing unexpected friendships and renewed enthusiasm for a larger collective project of building alternatives to the currently dominant growth-addicted economic model. These processes contribute to the establishment of foundational, mostly small-scale networks that are enjoyable to use in the here and now, while also creating the potential for these systems to be scaled up or linked together in response to greater economic, ecological, and social changes. Timebank developers in New Zealand are negotiating several structural challenges in their attempts to bring these networks to fruition. This article shares results of ethnographic research amongst seven North Island timebanks, and offers suggestions for future research in this area. Keywords: timebank, community currency, activism, degrowth, New Zealand

Alternative organizations in finance: Commoning in complementary currencies

The commons are alternative social and economic practices for fostering community development and regeneration. While finance is increasingly criticized as a trigger for individualism, community currencies are one of the financial initiatives that aim to reorganize finance in the collective interest. We analyze to what extent these alternative systems allow finance to constitute common goods or ‘commons’. To this end, we investigate the commoning practices through which resources are created, distributed, and consumed in a way that promotes new collectives. We analyze the extent to which community currencies can be considered as commons. Our findings suggest that community currencies have strong collective attributes such as community building, as well as the insertion of solidarity and cooperative values in money. Finally, we inquire into the limits and ambiguities of community currencies to represent an alternative to the capitalist economy.

Exploring the role of neighborhood walkability on community currency activities: A case study of the crooked river alliance of TimeBanks

Social capital is increasingly considered a means to address important planning objectives such as societal wellbeing and livability. Community Currency (CC) is considered one of the most effective forms of social capital. Understanding factors contributing to CC participation is the key to promoting successful CC systems. Despite the well-documented work on the demographic, socioeconomic, and policy factors related to CC, the roles of the physical environment, such as neighborhood walkability, have not been explored. Using the survey data collected from 77 users and 42 nonusers of CC, this exploratory study examined how neighborhood walkability influenced the levels of CC activities and community attachment. After controlling for demographic factors, the analysis showed walking-friendly neighborhood features were positively related to CC membership and CC activities. Further, CC participants and those living in walking-friendly neighborhoods showed significantly higher levels of community attachment compared to their counterparts. The results suggest that neighborhood physical environments may function to deter or promote CC participation, and that an effective CC promotion strategy may involve targeting walkable communities.

Community currency activities, community attachment, and quality of life: A case study of the Crooked River Alliance of TimeBanks

Adopting community currency has been considered an effective strategy to improve local economies and social environments. Socioeconomic benefits of community currency for users have been well documented in previous studies; however, the community and quality of life benefits of community currency and the differences in such benefits between the users and non-users of community currency have not been sufficiently examined. To develop evidence-based approaches toward promoting community currency, this study has two main objectives: first to discuss the current state of knowledge on community currency in terms of its trends, correlates, and benefits; and second to present an empirical study based on a survey of 77 community currency users and 42 non-users, which examines the potential roles of community currency activities in promoting community attachment and quality of life. Results demonstrated that among community currency users, more active community currency users had higher levels of community attachment and quality of life. Also, compared to non-users, community currency users showed higher levels of quality of life. Evidence from this study suggests community currency holds strong potential to serve as an important mechanism to provide unmet, or additional, social services. It may also contribute to delivering multiple social objectives, such as improving social cohesion and empowering active citizenship.

Cryptocurrencies as market singularities: the strange case of Bitcoin

ABSTRACTSince its creation in 2009, the electronic currency Bitcoin has generated volumes of online debate in the business press. While there have been plenty of economic arguments situating it as a financial bubble about to collapse including from Nobel Prize winning economists, its price value has proven to be more durable than many have predicted. To explain this durability, Karpik’s conception of market singularities is used to understand the Bitcoin phenomenon by outlining the beliefs that maintain Bitcoin’s status as a volatile financial asset. Market singularities are markets for particular kinds of goods and services that are of uncertain and incommensurable value. Singularities markets have communities of followers and a distinctive belief system that ascribes value to a particular product, service, or asset. Developing Karpik’s conception, the paper explores the libertarian political belief system that surrounds Bitcoin’s status as a financial asset. I also outline some political tensions within the electronic currency community concerning governance and centralisation.

“Your money ain't no good o'er there”: Food as real and social currency in the Pacific Theater of World War II

ABSTRACTThe millions of American servicemen who fought in the Pacific during World War II were paid better than any other. However, constant combat and time at sea gave these men relatively few places to spend their hard-earned money. Regardless, commerce existed in the theater in both real and social terms using currencies that were readily available and valued by men, even when there were few novel, material things to purchase with real money. Food was one of these forms of currency, and gave men a valuable tool that they could use to barter or adjust their social standing among their peers. Food-currency was used in two primary ways in combat or near-combat areas of the Pacific Theater. First, between many Pacific Islanders and military personnel, food was used as a cross-cultural bartering tool to quickly establish kinship between the military and the islanders. Secondly, amongst military personnel, food was used as a primary tender within a community currency system that acted outside of the military bureaucratic structure and across lines of rank, unit, ship, and branch. Used in this manner, food was a democratizing force and afforded men paths to social capital outside of their normal, job-related duties.