Announcements

[Conference] Complementary currencies and societal challenges – Call for Papers

Research Association on Monetary Innovation and Community and Complementary Currency Systems

Call for Papers

International conference on complementary currencies

Complementary currencies and societal challenges:

Crossing academic and practitioners knowledge/perspectives

Time: 21-22 November, 2019 

Venue: Brussels, Belgium

Institutional organizers of the research seminar: the Centre for European Research in Microfinance (CERMi) and the Research Association on Monetary Innovation and Community and Complementary Currency Systems (RAMICS)

The surge of growth of cryptocurrencies and digital money have recently caught the attention of both management scholars and practitioners (Brière et al., 2015; Dodgson et al., 2015; Iansiti & Lakhani, 2017; Lehr & Lamb, 2018; Michelman, 2017; Posnett, 2015; Vergne & Swain, 2017). However, cryptocurrencies are only one of the latest forms of complementary currencies (Blanc, 2016). Before the emergence of cryptocurrencies, complementary currencies were mainly conceived of and issued by citizens, nonprofits, businesses, and even local public administrations, and circulated within a defined geographical region or community (Cohen, 2017; Dissaux & Fare, 2017; Guéorguieva-Bringuier & Ottaviani, 2018; Lietaer, 2001). Also known as local, social, regional and alternative currencies, these complementary currency systems are often developed to respond to societal needs and aspirations that official currencies do not address (Meyer & Hudon, 2017; Fraňková et al., 2017; North, 2007). Specifically, they can be designed to promote sustainable behavior, build community social capital, and foster trade and local development (Blanc & Fare, 2013; Collom, 2007; Gomez & Helmsing, 2008; Marshall & O’Neill, 2018; Seyfang & Longhurst, 2013). For example, inter-enterprise currencies are mainly used in business-to-business networks in order to facilitate the exchange of goods and services between small and medium-sized enterprises (Meyer & Hudon, Forthcoming; Stodder, 2009).

Complementary currencies are socio-economic innovations aiming to address societal challenges of social cohesion, economic inclusion and environmental preservation (Stodder, 2009; Joachain & Klopfert, 2014; Michel & Hudon, 2015, Sanz, 2016). This conference aims to gather researchers and practitioners to explore and debate the potential of complementary currencies for sustainable development and socio-economic resilience (Ulanowicz et al., 2009; Gregory, 2014; Graugaard, 2012). We believe that the topic is one that is predestined for cross-disciplinary research and for thinking beyond established boundaries. We invite conceptual and empirical submissions drawing on a range of theoretical perspectives and diverse methodologies to explore complementary currencies, including researchers working on cryptocurrencies.

The Complementary Currencies and Societal Challenges conference will be held in Brussels, Belgium. The event is designed to include academic and practitioner knowledge and will be organized in two days:

  • November 21 (evening) – Closing event of (E)change Bruxelles project co-organized with Financité

This social event closes the (E)change Bruxelles action-research project co-organized between the Universite libre de Bruxelles and Financite. It celebrates the emergence of the new Brussels local currency ‘La Zinne’. Researchers participating to the research seminar of the 22nd November are welcome to join this social event, although it is not compulsory.

  • November 22: A research seminar (in English) on the following 5 themes:
    • CC and urban resilience
    • CC and civil society
    • Technology and CC
    • CC and entrepreneurship
    • Ethics and CC

Authors who wish to present their papers at the research seminar should submit electronically a three-page abstract by 01 September 2019 to the following mail address cermi@ulb.ac.be (with mhudon@ulb.ac.be in Cc), specifying to which of the 5 themes they wish to bring their contribution. Abstracts will be selected and authors will be notified and invited by 15 September 2019. A full paper will be due on 01 November 2019.

For questions, please contact Marek Hudon (mhudon@ulb.ac.be) and Tristan Dissaux (tristan.dissaux@ulb.ac.be).

We are looking forward to welcoming you on this Complementary Currencies and Societal Challenges event!

Scientific committee

Jérôme Blanc (Science-Po Lyon; Université Lumière-Lyon 2)

Tristan Dissaux (ULB) – Local Organizer

Marie Fare (Université Lumière-Lyon 2)

Georgina Gomez (Erasmus University)

Marek Hudon (ULB) – Local Organizer

Hélène Joachain (ULB) – Local Organizer

Marc Labie (UMONS)

Camille Meyer (Universiy of Victoria)

Ariane Szafarz (ULB)

References

Blanc, J., Fare, M. 2013. Understanding the role of governments and administrations in the implementation of community and complementary currencies. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, 84(1), 63-81.

Blanc, J. 2016. Unpacking monetary complementarity and competition: a conceptual framework. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 41(1), 239-257.

Brière, M., Oosterlinck, K., Szafarz, A. 2015. Virtual currency, tangible return: Portfolio diversification with Bitcoin. Journal of Asset Management, 16(6), 365-373.

Collom, E. 2007. The motivations, engagement, satisfaction, outcomes and demographics of time bank participants: Survey findings from a U.S. system. International Journal of Community Currency Research, 11, 36-83

Dissaux, T, Fare, M. 2017. A collective redefinition of money: The case of the local currency “La Gonette” in Lyon, France. 29th annual SASE conference, Lyon.

Fraňková, E., Fousek, J., Kala, L., Labohý, J. 2014. Transaction network analysis for studying Local Exchange Trading Systems (LETS): Research potentials and limitations. Ecological Economics, 107, 266-275.

Gómez, G.M., Dini, P., 2016. Making sense of a crank case: monetary diversity in Argentina (1999–2003). Cambridge Journal of Economics 40, 1421–1437.

Graugaard, J. D. 2012. A tool for building community resilience? A case study of the Lewes Pound. Local Environment, 17(2), 243-260.

Gregory, L. 2014. Resilience or resistance? Time banking in the age of austerity. Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 22(2), 171-183.

Guéorguieva-Bringuier, L., Ottaviani, F. 2018. Opposition and isomorphism with the neoliberal logic in community exchange systems. Ecological Economics, 149, 88-97.

Gomez, G.M, Helmsing, A.H.J. 2008. Selective spatial closure and local economic development: What do we learn from the argentine local currency systems? World Development, 36(11), 2489-2511

Joachain, H., Klopfert, F. 2014. Smarter than metering? Coupling smart meters and complementary currencies to reinforce the motivation of households for energy savings. Ecological Economics 105, 89-96.

Meyer, C., Hudon, M. (forthcoming). Money and the commons: An investigation of complementary currencies and their ethical implications. Journal of Business Ethics.

Meyer, C., Hudon, M. 2017. Alternative organizations in finance: Commoning in complementary currencies. Organization, 24(5), 629-647.

Michel, A., Hudon, M. 2015. Community currencies and sustainable development: A systematic review. Ecological Economics, 116, pp. 160–171.

Marshall, A. P., O’Neill, D. W. 2018. The Bristol Pound: A tool for localisation?. Ecological Economics, 146, 273-281.

Sanz, E. O. 2016. Community currency (CCs) in Spain: An empirical study of their social effects. Ecological Economics, 121, 20-27.

Stodder, J. 2009. Complementary credit networks and macro-economic stability: Switzerland’s Wirtschaftsring. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 72, 79–95.

Ulanowicz, R. E., Goerner, S. J., Lietaer, B., Gomez, R. 2009. Quantifying sustainability: Resilience, efficiency and the return of information theory. Ecological complexity, 6(1), 27-36.