Dear readers,
It is our pleasure to publish Volume 24, Issue 1 of the International Journal of Community Currency Research.
We hope that you are adapting to the circumstances imposed by Covid19 and the reactions to the virus outbreak of the various governments. Despite the difficulties we experienced in the last weeks, we managed to publish the new issue in the last hours of the Northern hemisphere’s Winter.Read More »
Ranulfo Paiva Sobrinho1, Claudia Maricusa Agraz Hernández2, Karla Vanessa Córdoba Brenes3, Juan Osti Sáenz2, Ademar Ribeiro Romeiro4
1Researcher at the Institute of Economics in the Campinas State University. Cidade Universitária “Zeferino Vaz” Barão Geraldo – Campinas, São Paulo, Brasil. CEP: 13083-970. Telefonista – PABX: 55 19 3521-2121. Co-founder of Sustainability.School
2Instituto EPOMEX, Universidad Autónoma de Campeche, Av. Agustín Melgar s/n entre Juan de la Barrera y Calle 20, Col. Buenavista, A.P. 24039 San Francisco de Campeche, Campeche, México. Teléfono (52) 981 8119800 ext. 62309. Fax ext. 62399.
3Co-founder of Sustainability.School. http://www.sustainability.school
4Researcher at the Institute of Economics in the Campinas State University. Cidade Universitária “Zeferino Vaz” Barão Geraldo – Campinas, São Paulo, Brasil. CEP: 13083-970. Telefonista – PABX: 55 19 3521-2121.
ABSTRACT
We present the proposal of a complementary currency, the Sodziles, to strength the local economy and social ties among the members of the Mayan community of Sodzil (Campeche, Mexico) that work in a mangrove restoration project. This project is important both for the conservation of mangroves and for the social and economic dynamics of Sodzil community. The Sodziles are backed by the restored mangrove ecosystem. We describe key local environmental, social and economic aspects, as well as the macroeconomic context within which the project is developing, specifically, the credit expansion and level of indebtedness in the various sectors of the country, and especially in Campeche State, where the restoration project is in process. From there, it was possible to identify that Mexico is close to a strong economic recession due to the high level of indebtedness of the sectors of its economy. The occurrence of this crisis may affect government funds to finance the restoration project, as well as economic activities such as construction works on which some of the Mayan descendants depend. There is no crisis yet, but it is important to consider the Sodziles as an option in case this crisis happens and also to ensure that the recovered mangroves are protected.
To cite this article: Ranulfo Paiva Sobrinho et al. (2017) ‘A new type of money for a Mayan community to build resilience in a context of economic crisis’ International Journal of Community Currency Research 2017 Volume 21 (Summer) 85-97 <www.ijccr.net> ISSN 1325-9547. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.15133/j.ijccr.2017.010
Arianna Bove
School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London Francis Bancroft Building, Room 3.44a. Mile End Road, E1 4NS London, United Kingdom. Phone: +44 (0)20 7882 8412 Email: a.bove@qmul.ac.uk
ABSTRACT
The paper presents the findings of ethnographic research and a survey of a Local Exchange Trading Scheme in North-East London and asks the question of whether the scheme delivers on the aims and objectives of its members. The research found that whilst its members express a strong politically motivated desire for an alternative to the prevailing economic system, the LETS scheme falls short of delivering on those ambitions. The findings raise the question of whether there is anything intrinsic to this form of local community currency that leads it to be more inclusive, egalitarian and fair.
To cite this article: Arianna Bove (2017) ‘Let’s change: a critical study of the aims and practices of a local exchange trading scheme’ International Journal of Community Currency Research 2017 Volume 21 (Summer) 65-83 <www.ijccr.net> ISSN 1325-9547. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.15133/j.ijccr.2017.009
Tristan Dissaux
Laboratoire Triangle, UMR 5206, Université Lyon 2, France, Email: tristan.dissaux@gmail.com
For developing countries, financing needs remain important, especially to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. This paper deals with the problematic of financing for development (FfD), by focusing on what we think to be its major blind spot: money. If development is far from being only about money, its financing does have monetary aspects, which are most often omitted. We first emphasise the current prevailing FfD paradigm and show that it stands on a particular theoretical corpus. In particular, it adopts a restrictive understanding of money, carrying important political, economic and social implications. Against what can be described as a non-monetary approach to financing for development, we consider the nature and origins of money. In this light, the current FfD paradigm appears as inconsistent, while tools such as social and complementary currencies can be relevant. We here explore their participation to financing and their potentials regarding this issue.
To cite this article: Tristan Dissaux (2018) ‘Financing for development: a monetary issue in which money has no say’ International Journal of Community Currency Research 2018 Volume 22 (Winter) 37-49 <www.ijccr.net> ISSN 1325-9547. http://dx.doi.org/10.15133/j.ijccr.2018.004
Grzegorz Sobiecki
SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Poland; gsobie@sgh.waw.pl
This paper draws out key conclusions from a research project – a pilot empirical study on local complementary currencies (exchange systems). The study comprised 15 interviews with coordinators representing 13 existing alternative currency systems in Poland out of 20 identified. The research was conducted between February and April 2017. The main goal of the study was empirical determination of the factors involved in the rise and fall of alternative currencies systems in Poland and conditions for their survival – that is, sustainability factors. The author demonstrated that, among examined system, two are performing better than the others, and they meet the efficiency conditions: they have a relatively high and stable or growing number of active members and exchanges, and they are constantly developed without reporting any substantial problems. Despite many differences, they have much in common. The analysis of the two examples in comparison with other systems enabled forming a list of sustainability factors and suggestions for the coordinators or initiators concerning how and what to do and what to avoid to make the system more sustainable.
To cite this article: Sobiecki, Grzegorz (2018) ‘Sustainability of local complementary currencies – Conclusions from an empirical study in Poland’ International Journal of Community Currency Research 2018 Volume 22 (Summer) 105-124 <www.ijccr.net> ISSN 1325-9547. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.15133/j.ijccr.2018.019
Andreu Honzawa
Abstract
Las Monedas Locales Complementarias (MLC) son redes de intercambios que pueden tener muy diversas tipologías, características y objetivos. Este artículo se propone dar una visión panorámica de su implementación como política pública, utilizando un análisis comparativo de casos históricos y, sobretodo, actuales, a partir del marco analítico, basado en los Modelos de Orientación Estratégica (MOEs) a partir de dos variables clave, la intervención del sector público y de la participación del voluntariado en la gestión de las MLC.
Para citar este artículo: Honzawa, A. (2019) ‘Las monedas locales complementarias: modelos de orientación estratégica como política pública’ International Journal of Community Currency Research 23 (Winter) 20-29 <www.ijccr.net> ISSN 1325-9547. http://dx.doi.org/10.15133/j.ijccr.2019.003
Timebanking is a parallel currency system structured on Cahn’s normative principles of co-production (2004, 2010; Cahn & Gray, 2013). This article provides a descriptive analysis of the normative principles of co-production in timebanking in order to explore the moral commitment espoused by timebanking economies, especially in regard to reciprocity and the adoption of an asset perspective. A further strand examines the literature on timebanking outcomes for evidence of the influence of normative principles in practice. Discussion centres on the nature of co-production in timebanking, the practice of reciprocity and time exchange balances. Two distinct issues are identified in the literature that impact the actualization of the normative principles in timebanking practice: a reductionist approach to measurement of exchange, and reciprocation latency. The nature and causes of these invite further research. These issues arise from alternative interpretations of the nature of exchange in co-production in timebanking. The work is important because of the gap in community currency research in regard to how normative values, foundational to this alternative economy, are actualized. The discussion provides a summary of the influences which frame the timebanking exchange and indicates possible areas for further research.
Neville Clement, Allyson Holbrook, Daniella Forster, Johanna Macneil, Max Smith, Kevin Lyons, Elizabeth McDonald
The University of Newcastle, Australia, Email: Neville.Clement@newcastle.edu.au
To cite this article: Clement, N.; Holbrook, A.; Forster, D.; Macneil, J.; Smith, M.; Lyons, K. and McDonald, E. (2017) ‘Timebanking, co-production and normative principles: putting normative principles into practice’ International Journal of Community Currency Research 21 (Winter) 36-52 <www.ijccr.net> ISSN 1325-9547. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.15133/j.ijccr.2017.004
This paper presents a novel socio-psychological analysis of the motivations and experiences of mutual credit members in the United Kingdom and in the United States. Primary data comprised of interviews and participant observation, supplemented with secondary data analysis of organisation documents, and a review of the literature in psychology, sociology and economics. Group members were motivated to secure personal resilience against hardship, and the personal agency that results from this, along with the experiences of community and cultural identity positioning, motivates engagement. Consequently these groups are defined as cultural communities offering personal resilience to members through informal reciprocity. This approach, which prioritises the social aspects of exchange, has implications for the design of complementary currencies, particularly mutual credit initiatives, and demonstrates the value of engaging with the fields of psychology and sociology in developing interdisciplinary understandings of alternative economic practice.
To cite this article: Smith, C.J. and Lewis, A. (2016) ‘Psychological Factors influencing the Use and Development of Complementary Currencies’ International Journal of Community Currency Research 20 (Summer) 2-23 <www.ijccr.net> ISSN 1325-9547. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.15133/j.ijccr.2016.001
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