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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the social benefits of timebanking, service that enables the exchange of services within local communities using time credits instead of traditional currency. The research aims to identify the barriers to the implementation of timebank activities and investigate their potential for future development. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts a critical review of existing literature and empirical case studies, primarily focusing on timebanking activities in the UK. Through a qualitative analysis of case studies and secondary sources, the research evaluates the effectiveness of timebanking in enhancing community cohesion, mental health, and economic sustainability. Findings: The findings suggest that timebanking holds significant potential to improve social cohesion, mental well-being, and provide economic benefits by fostering collaboration within communities. However, the study also identifies key barriers to the successful implementation of timebanking systems, such as administrative challenges and scalability concerns. Research limitations/implications: The research is limited by its reliance on case studies from the UK, which may restrict the generalizability of the findings to other cultural or socioeconomic contexts. Further empirical research across diverse regions is recommended to validate these results and examine the long-term impacts of timebanking on various communities. Practical implications: The study provides practical recommendations for policymakers and community organizations looking to implement or expand timebanking initiatives. By incorporating timebanking into social welfare programs, it can help strengthen local communities, improve social well-being, and enhance economic resilience. Social implications: Timebanking has the potential to significantly impact society by promoting a sense of community, reducing social isolation, and fostering inclusive economic systems. It encourages active participation, mutual support, and the creation of sustainable local economies, contributing to improved quality of life for community members. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the growing body of research on alternative economic systems by highlighting the underexplored social benefits of timebanking. It offers valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and community organizers interested in innovative solutions for community development and social welfare strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing number of countries have launched their central bank digital currencies (CBDC) in recent years, but the economic impacts of CBDC adoption are underexplored. To empirically assess how CBDC adoption influences regional economic integration, this paper investigates the Greater Bay Area, where China carried out one of its first digital renminbi pilot programs. The Greater Bay Area provides a good example because the growing acceptance of digital renminbi in the area can potentially mitigate transaction costs and risks due to the exchange rate volatility of the Chinese renminbi, Hong Kong dollar, and Macao pataca. CBDC adoption can lead to greater real and financial integrations by facilitating cross-border trade in goods and services. This paper evaluates deviations from uncovered interest rate parity, purchasing power parity, and real interest rate parity across Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao based on monthly interest rate and price data from January 2016 to December 2022. The time series have mean values near zero, which validate the parity conditions and indicate high degrees of financial, real, and economic integrations. The Markov regime-switching regression model identifies three regimes: (1) pre-Covid, (2) post-Covid, and (3) post-CBDC. The Covid-19 outbreak brought lower integration and stability, but the launch of the CBDC restored some of the pre-Covid integration and stability. Regimes 1 and 2 are persistent, and transitions from Regime 3 back to Regime 1 are probable. Hence, this study finds evidence that CBDC adoption improves regional economic integration in the short and long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India and Japan are the only two non-dollar issuing countries that have signed dollar-denominated bilateral swap arrangements (BSAs) with foreign central banks. These arrangements indicate that India and Japan are committed to protect their BSA partners’ financial security even at the expense of their own dollar reserves. What has motivated the two countries to make such policy choices? This article argues that India and Japan’s dollar-denominated BSAs not only enhance financial security but also limit the recipients’ motivations to look for alternative settlement currencies for trade or investment. Even if the BSAs are not directly aimed to contain China, therefore, this effectively limits the potential expansion of the RMB’s influence and allows India and Japan to maintain their structural power by supporting regional dollar dominance. This article finds, therefore, that India and Japan’s dollar-denominated BSAs serve as a tool in the geoeconomic competition with a rising China in support of the incumbent regional powers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This interdisciplinary paper blends knowledge from computer science and economics in proposing a complex dynamic system subpopulation model for a blockchain form of local complementary currency, generic to the Grassroots Economics Foundation's Community Inclusion Currency (CIC) implemented in Kenya. Our contribution to the emerging economics literature is five-fold: (i) we take a novel meso-economic approach to elicit utility from actual transactions data and reveal an 'optimal' disaggregation number of typical community subgroups; (ii) we relate the local CIC functioning to a nation-wide currency board monetary regime to argue that such a credible CIC implementation ensures trust in the CIC and makes it a valuable market-based channel to alleviate poverty, in addition to humanitarian or government aid channels. However, (iii) we also find evidence in our data that substitutes for real-world money such as CICs are perceived as inferior, and hence CIC systems can only be transitional. Then, (iv) we reveal that, for a poor population, saving dominates as a use of a cluster's CIC balance, accounting for 47%, followed by purchase of food and water, 25%. Despite these dominant patterns, (v) we uncover a considerable heterogeneity in CIC spending behavior. Our contribution to the related computer-science and Tokenomics literature is two-fold: (i) we provide an open-source scaffold for modeling CIC viability and net flows; (ii) to simulate a subpopulation mixing process, we employ a network-based dynamical system modeling approach that is better grounded in economic principles and monetary theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blockchain for local communities are blockchain-based applications that support the participation of people in the social and economic life of their local community. These applications leverage tokenization to enable socioeconomic processes involving transactions of values where community members take part actively and intentionally. In this field, mechanisms that regulate the functioning of blockchains need to be redirected towards collaborative and social purposes that often differ from the logics on which mainstream cryptocurrencies are based. In order to redesign these mechanisms, sound examination of their system of tokenization and of dynamics of their token economy is required. This paper provides an exploratory review of token economy elements found within cases of blockchain for local community economies, which is an under-explored domain in the relevant literature. The analysis considers 9 projects for systems that incentivize or reward participation, or implement community currency schemes. The dimensions analyzed encompass the type of goals and communities, the blockchains adopted, and token economy design aspects such as: token types, their distribution and incentive mechanisms, the associated platform/wallet functionalities, and the project governance models. We have observed a variety of combinations of these elements being used to facilitate new forms of value circulation. However, there is a tension between the aspiration to introduce transformative systems and the need to ensure the stability of the economic framework. The highly experimental nature of these initiatives requires continuous monitoring of their emergence and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a study of a youth café initiative for skills training in South Africa where a reward system with community currency (the ZE system) is implemented on smartphones to promote personal development and prepare youth for the job market in socially challenged communities. The youth receive currency in exchange for taking part in skills training and community work that can be spent on services and consumables in the local community. This study assesses the qualitative performance of the ZE system and youth café operation, through an inductive qualitative analysis of interviews with youth café visitors and staff. Using Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as a lens, the analysis focuses on how the youth café operation supports motivation for personal development. Results indicate that the youth cafés provide a platform for developing self-determination and promoting personal development. However, this is not a result from the ZE system alone, but rather from how it is embedded in the supportive environment of the youth cafés, as well as the integration of the youth café operation in the local communities. In conclusion, the youth café operation, with its digital reward system, may be viewed as an example of an empowering socio-technology for development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As corporate social responsibility research increasingly focuses on the role of grassroots organizations in challenging business practices, there remains a gap in understanding how these organizations prefigure alternatives to the prevailing business status quo. This study addresses this gap by developing a framework of prefigurative imaginaries, drawing from a qualitative study of a grassroots organization confronting the social irresponsibility of the Kenyan banking system in serving the poor. The framework captures how grassroots organizations use imaginaries to prefigure an alternative community currency system for enacting and foreshadowing social change. However, when attempts were made to scale up the system, these actions became disjointed, resulting in cracks within the imaginaries and the eventual abandonment of the system. Our study contributes to corporate social responsibility research by broadening its scope to include grassroots organizations and unveiling how they prefigure social change in marginalized contexts. By highlighting the significant influence of imaginaries on experiences and practices, this study underscores their role in shaping the acceptance or rejection of grassroots initiatives by the communities they aim to serve. It has implications for scholars and practitioners interested in understanding the role of imaginaries in shaping community-driven initiatives and advancing social change agendas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide a comprehensive account of the evolution of the currency composition of sovereign and corporate external borrowing by emerging markets from 2003 to 2017. We show that a higher reliance on foreign currency debt by the corporate sector is associated with higher sovereign default risk. We introduce local currency sovereign debt and private sector currency mismatch into a standard sovereign debt model to examine how the currency composition of corporate borrowing affects the sovereign's incentive to inflate or default. A calibration of the model generates the empirical patterns of sovereign credit risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses transaction data from time banks to analyze their potential to generate bonding and bridging social capital among members, emphasizing community engagement and contributing to the circular economy. It also indirectly investigates members’ motivations to engage in time banks. Regarding bonding social capital, the findings are in line with the related literature in terms of the average number of trading partners and the ego-network density. However, reciprocity is a more frequent behavior in our data than in other time banks from other countries. With respect to bridging social capital and considering different age groups, the results show slight evidence of homophilic behavior, although intergenerational transactions are also present, being more frequent between closer age groups. Finally, regarding members’ motivations to participate in time banks, the analysis suggests that young people seem to be more driven by ideological reasons while the elderly members seem more motivated by economic reasons.

This article uses transaction data from three time banks located in Barcelona to analyze their potential to generate bonding and bridging social capital for their members. Regarding bonding social capital, the findings are in line with the related literature in terms of the average number of trading partners and the ego-network density. However, reciprocity is a more frequent form of behavior in our data than in other time banks from other countries. Concerning bridging social capital and considering different age groups, the results show slight evidence of homophilic behavior, although intergenerational transactions are also present, being more frequent between more similar age groups. Finally, we explore the influence of age on the time it takes for members to engage in transactions, which could somehow be related to their potential motivations behind joining a time bank. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Southern African Customs Union is the oldest customs union in the world and the member states form a currency union with the South African Rand being the regional currency anchor. Therefore, currency movements amongst SACU member are dependent on the developments on the Rand which, in turn, can affect stock market development in the region. We examine the time-frequency relationship between exchange rates and stock market returns in SACU countries using continuous wavelet transforms. Our empirical analysis is two-staged. Firstly, we employ wavelet power spectrum to examine the time-frequency properties of the individual series. Secondly, we use wavelet coherence analysis and phase dynamics to examine the synchronization between the variables in a time-frequency space. Our findings show stronger (weaker) exchange rate-stock returns relations are found during periods of higher (lower) inflation whereas we observe a stronger (weaker) relationship during periods of lower interest rate environment. Moreover, we find more significant long-run relationships for countries with more independent monetary policy (South Africa and Botswana) whereas these relations are more prominent over the short-run for countries with pegged exchange rates (Eswatini and Namibia). We also observe that periods of oil and currency shocks impact the exchange rate-stock returns relationship in SACU countries with pegged exchange rates (Eswatini and Namibia). Our findings bear important implications for different stakeholders. For instance, this study has implications for exchange rate policy as it addresses the issue of whether the exchange rate can be used to improve market performance or exchange rate developments spillover into the stock market. Furthermore, corporate managers and stock market participants would be interested in our findings as it identifies periods of market inefficiency when exchange rates can be used to beat the stock market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the structure of socially embedded exchange under uncertainty in the context of a community currency system in Germany. We discuss three relational and path-dependent mechanisms—experience-based trust, networked reputation and public reputation—which serve as navigation practices to mitigate uncertainty. We furthermore associate these mechanisms with observable structures of exchange, namely repeated transactions and reciprocity, transitivity and provider activity, and discuss differences in product-inherent uncertainty as a source of variation in network structure. Based on original observations of more than 4000 transactions over a period of 8 years, we use relational event models to demonstrate that the history of transactions exhibits structure consistent with the three hypothesized mechanisms, with some variation across different types of transactions. This variation is partly in line with differences in product-inherent uncertainty, but we also discuss alternative sources of variation related to organizational and institutional conditions of the exchange system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this article is to analyze technology as the instrument that facilitates and drives the development of collaborative strategies. The focus is the promotion of mutual support initiatives originating from the population, in the central highlands of Ecuador (the Andes). The Design/Methodology is quantitative, with descriptive and inferential scope with nonprobabilistic sampling, made up of direct observation, interviews and surveys applied to 215 people. Inferential statistics are applied by classification of the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) type in R-Studio. The results obtained reveal that, on average, users exchanged 14 products, although the reliable range includes between 10 to 18 products, a result that is evidenced by the standard deviation. Technology is socially shaped; therefore, the use of technological platforms stimulates collaborative exchange that allows the population to survive, seen as a practice that is resumed to minimize and compensate for the inefficiency of the state. Three aspects to highlight: a) barter resurfaces when capitalist exchange breaks down and technology favors this type of exchange; b) the state is replaced by community and family leadership and the social subject is redefined beyond a "citizen"; and c) the denial of the classic capitalist system, by managing to transfer value without transferring currency, supported by technology. Originality/Value through the absence of studies that connect topics such as technology-barter is well covered in this article, it is an addition for those interested in socialeconomic sciences and who want to find novel topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ant Forest (mayi senlin, 螞蟻森林) is a Chinese low-carbon consumption project initiated in the mid-2010s under China's personal carbon trading scheme. Based on its internal logic, this project's operation can be associated with a green movement within community currencies (CCs). This study investigates how Ant Forest (a type of CC mechanism) participates in, integrates, and even innovate the mechanism of environmental governance in China. From the CC perspective of a 'new economics' centred on low carbon consumption, a multi-criteria qualitative evaluation tool with a set of indicators is adapted for the case analysis. The results show that the mechanism design of Ant Forest can develop a local circular economy, cultivate environmental awareness among citizens, build a low-carbon consumption community, create community interaction and pool social capital. The case of Ant Forest shows a 'bottom-up' structure which enables public participation in China's environmental governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circulation is the characteristic feature of successful currency systems, from community currencies to cryptocurrencies to national currencies. In this paper, we propose a network analysis approach especially suited for studying circulation given a system's digital transaction records. Sarafu is a digital community currency that was active in Kenya over a period that saw considerable economic disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We represent its circulation as a network of monetary flow among the 40,000 Sarafu users. Network flow analysis reveals that circulation was highly modular, geographically localized, and occurring among users with diverse livelihoods. Across localized sub-populations, network cycle analysis supports the intuitive notion that circulation requires cycles. Moreover, the sub-networks underlying circulation are consistently degree disassortative and we find evidence of preferential attachment. Community-based institutions often take on the role of local hubs, and network centrality measures confirm the importance of early adopters and of women's participation. This work demonstrates that networks of monetary flow enable the study of circulation within currency systems at a striking level of detail, and our findings can be used to inform the development of community currencies in marginalized areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the economic crisis of 2008, the need for solutions that introduce alternative forms of cooperation between economic actors increased greatly. At the same time, concerns for the environment have intensified, and the integration of environmental considerations in economic activities has become increasingly important. As a response, peer-to-peer economy and peer-to-peer payment systems, among other things, have emerged. Compared with previous economic crises, the COVID-19 pandemic has posed new challenges for everyone, which could lead to the intensification of alternative path-finding processes. The ecological problems the we face mean that the aim should be to go beyond the restoration of previous economic mechanisms prioritising ecological sustainability. In this study, the authors’ aim was to present the elements of a novel solution concept that is based on the hypothesis that a digital community currency created through smart contracts can promote genuine practices of sharing as opposed to the currently operating platforms’ profit-oriented approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological communities are assembled through a series of multiple processes, including dispersal, abiotic and biotic filtering, and ecological drift. Although these assembly processes act in concert to structure local communities, their relative importance is considerably variable among study systems. While such contingency of community assembly has been widely appreciated, the empirical and theoretical evidence is scattered around in the literature, and few efforts have been made to synthesize it. In this mini‐review, we summarize the accumulated evidence of the context‐dependency of community assembly rules, to reach a rough generalization of the contingency. Specifically, we argue that spatial and temporal dimensions can serve as general axes that regulate the relative importance of assembly processes. To this end, we synthesize the current understanding of how the relative importance of multiple assembly processes changes with spatial scales and complexity, and with time in the long and short terms. This review concludes that spatial and temporal dimensions can be common currencies of community assembly rules that are shared across various systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community currencies have recently emerged as tools for assisting the disadvantaged. In order to make a contribution to the larger field of community currencies, the purpose of this research is to investigate how a financial institution evaluates community currency lending. We show, using an adverse selection model, the importance of the role of motivated financial institutions in the effectiveness of community currency loans for small entrepreneurs. If those institutions are unmotivated, the market collapses, and only traditional loans are offered. Additionally, if there is enough intrinsic motivation, the size of the loans also increases, which is beneficial to the borrowers. Finally, this paper emphasizes the importance of subsidies in this sector, which act as catalysts by increasing the likelihood that community currency loans will be offered, as well as increasing loan sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In some mountainous areas of Japan, the Ki-no-Eki system, in which wood is collected to thin the forest and is exchanged for community currency, has been specifically designed and implemented as a solution to current and emerging forest governance issues. This study aimed to capture the evolutionary processes of a complete communication network consisting of organizations that joined policy forums to help develop the Ki-no-Eki system. A total of 26 policy forums were held from 2011 to 2019 to discuss the adoption and implementation of the Ki-no-Eki system across Japan, and coattendance and the resultant policy discourses among 62 participating Ki-no-Eki organizations in these forums were regarded as dynamic communication network processes. We analyzed how policy communication networks formed and evolved to understand the underlying network dynamics driven by not only endogenous network processes—bonding and bridging social capital—but also exogenous effects defined by actors' attributes. We employed the stochastic actor-oriented model for network dynamics to manage the collected longitudinal undirected network data. We found (i) the emergence of bonding social capital and (ii) homophilic and heterophilic connections in communication networks, which provided insightful explanations of the driving forces of social cohesion among Ki-no-Eki organizations engaged in forest management in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article outlines proposed amendments to Sections 6.04 and 6.25 of the U.S. Model Business Corporation Act relating to bearer shares and scrip. It presents changes to existing provisions governing issuance and handling of fractional shares, sale of fractional share interests, conditions for the issuance of scrip certificates, form and content of share certificates, and minimum requirements for share certificates.

In spite of varied and sometimes underwhelming results, community currencies (CCs) continue to demonstrate potential for inducing beneficial regional development by means of technological innovation and creditable social outcomes. However, outside of the Western context, much still needs to be understood regarding their operation and management. Long-term durability in particular has been an issue that has been observed with CCs around the world. This paper aims to shed more light on this aspect of CC research from the Japanese perspective by formulating a descriptive framework of long-lived Japanese CCs. In order to accomplish this, 12 Japanese CC organizations that have each operated for at least a decade are investigated using a Grounded Theory approach (GT). The GT methodology was applied to a primary data set of transcribed interviews with CC leaders and organizers. This was supplemented by currency circulation reports, surveys among CC users, and observation of CC activities for the purposes of data triangulation. Leadership Continuity emerged as the core theme uniting these diverse organizations. An exploration of this theme reveals 3 broad operating forms of long-lived Japanese CCs, namely, LETS Passbook Communities, Subsidized Coupon Type CCs, and Non-Subsidized Coupon Type CCs. Additionally, 3 reliable funding strategies and 2 reinforcement factors were observed among the more robust organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a dataset of account information and detailed transaction records for a digital complementary currency in Kenya. This "Sarafu system" initially encompassed several local, physical community currencies, which began transitioning to a feature-phone mobile interface in 2017. One unit of "Sarafu" is roughly equivalent in value to a Kenyan shilling. The published data includes anonymized account information for around 55,000 users and records of all Sarafu transactions conducted from January 25, 2020 to June 15, 2021. Transactions totaling around 300 million Sarafu capture various economic and financial activities such as purchases, transfers, and participation in savings and lending groups. So-called "chamas" are key to the operation of the Sarafu system and many such groups are labeled in the data. Describing this data contributes to research on the operation of community currencies, monetary systems, and economic networks in marginalized, food insecure areas. The observation period includes the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and several documented pilot projects and interventions. Measurement(s) Payment Technology Type(s) Monitoring Sample Characteristic - Organism Homo sapiens Sample Characteristic - Environment Complementary currency system Sample Characteristic - Location Kenya [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of European Integration History is the property of Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: This research article addresses the role of processes of normative regulation, driven by distinct approaches to collective action and underlying narratives of social change, in the construction of "solidarity economy" initiatives as parallel spatialities to that of the mainstream economy. Design/methodology/approach: This article is based on a comparative case study analysis, informed by aspects of the Grounded Theory and Extended Case Study methods, of an ecovillage, an alternative commercialization network and an "integral cooperative". The analysis is illustrated with fieldwork data on food production, commercialization and consumption, given its centrality in the construction of human livelihoods and lifeworld. Findings: The resulting conceptual framework identifies three methodologies of normative regulation: Prefigurative social technologies and capitalizing upon power and reputation to exert influence over other economic actors; being part of a wider class-based emancipatory political project; mobilizing online peer-to-peer platforms and community currencies to construct an alternative institutionality. Research limitations/implications: This article constitutes an exploratory analysis. Further research, based on the application of mixed methodologies to larger samples, will further expand the setup and applicability of these concepts. Practical implications: This analysis will allow scholars and practitioners alike to gain a deeper understanding of how different approaches to collective action, based on distinct structural standpoints and narratives of change, constitute alternative economic spatialities to those of the mainstream economy. Social implications: The comparative approach used in this article, as well as the resulting concepts, have the potential of contributing to the convergence of "solidarity economy" strategies between initiatives and movements with different approaches to collective action, therefore contributing to improve their capacity to exercise influence upon incumbent institutional regimes, as well as promote socio-economic change. Originality/value: This article aims to bridge a significant gap in the understanding of how "solidarity economy"-based parallel spatialities emerge and coexist with the mainstream economy: It analyses how processes of normative regulation result from narratives of change with distinct approaches to collective action, based on the standpoint of actors located differently within structural power relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What explains the central role of the dollar in world trade? Will the US currency retain its dominant status in the future? This paper develops a quantitative general equilibrium framework with endogenous currency choice that can address these questions. Complementarities in price setting and input-output linkages across firms generate complementarities in currency choice making exporters coordinate on the same currency of invoicing. The dollar is more likely to play this role because of the large size of the US economy, a widespread peg to the dollar, and the history dependence in currency choice. Calibrated using the world input-output tables and exchange rate moments, the model can successfully replicate the key empirical facts about the use of currencies at the global level, across countries, and over time. According to the counterfactual analysis, the peg to the dollar in other economies ensures that the US currency is unlikely to lose its global status because of the falling US share in the world economy, but can be replaced by the renminbi in case of a negative shock in the US economy. If the peg is abandoned, the world is likely to move to a new equilibrium with multiple regional currencies. (JEL D21, E31, E42, F14, F31, F33) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of what may be the world’s first randomized control trial on community currencies, focusing on Grassroots Economics Community Inclusion Currency (CIC) model run on the xDAI blockchain. Beneficiaries in Nairobi, Kenya were sent the equivalent of $30 in cryptocurrency tokens, enabling a level of impact evaluation usually unfeasible for most cash and mobile-money based transfer programs. Results show that CIC transfers of $30 are associated with $93.51 increase in beneficiaries wallet balance, a $23.17 increase in monthly CIC income, a $16.30 increase in monthly CIC spending, a $6.31 increase in average trade size and a $28.43 increase in expenditure on food and water. However, the difference in treatment effects for males versus females suggests gender imbalances persist. This study serves as an important prototype for novel cash transfer models and presents some of the first quantitative evidence in the area of “crypto for good.”

The highly contagious nature of SARS-CoV-2 has led to several studies on the transmission of the virus. A little studied potential fomite of great concern in the community is currency, which has been shown to harbor microbial pathogens in several studies. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses in the United States have limited the use of banknotes in favor of credit cards. However, SARS-CoV-2 has shown greater stability on plastic in several studies. Herein, the stability of SARS-CoV-2 at room temperature on banknotes, money cards and coins was investigated. In vitro studies with live virus suggested SARS-CoV-2 was highly unstable on banknotes, showing an initial rapid reduction in viable virus and no viral detection by 24 hours. In contrast, SARS-CoV-2 displayed increased stability on money cards with live virus detected after 48 hours. Environmental swabbing of currency and money cards on and near the campus of Brigham Young University supported these results, with no detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA on banknotes, and a low level on money cards. However, no viable virus was detected on either. These preliminary results suggest that the use of money cards over banknotes in order to slow the spread of this virus may be ill-advised. These findings should be investigated further through larger environmental studies involving more locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, but more intensely as a result of the 2008 crisis, some economic practices alternative to the dominant economic system have proliferated, especially in urban areas where the new left-wing social movements have taken root. The city of Zaragoza is presented as a case study; having been governed in the last legislature by a coalition of the new left, is considered one of the so-called municipalities of change. Some practices have been selected that work on a local scale following procedures that are clearly different from the conventional ones: community urban gardens, agro ecological markets and consumption groups, community currencies -time bank, barter markets, local exchange trade systems- and self-managed social centers. A qualitative methodology based on semi-structured interviews, combined with surveys and participant observation has been used. These practices are located scattered throughout the urban space. They are related to urban social movements and local politics. It is concluded that their impact is limited in quantitative terms, but that they have broad transformative potential due to the characteristics of their practitioners and the support of local government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the economic support for the creation of an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) monetary union encompassing all its 15 members, an objective that was set more than 30 years ago. In line with previous empirical research, our conclusion is that the adoption of a common currency by the whole region is not recommended. This work takes a step forward and assesses alternative ways to reduce the current number of currencies in circulation in the Community. Based on our results, we suggest (i) the merging of the currencies of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone into a single currency and (ii) the Gambia to join the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local currencies represent an alternative to fiat money. They contribute to the development of local communities, primarily by supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, which remain fundamental for the economy of every European country. The purpose of the study is to identify both ways and methods focused on supporting the implementation of the concept of sustainable development by the selected local currencies in the area of Europe, analysed in the years 1932-2020. The paper takes the form a descriptive analysis based on the studies covering Polish, Czech, Dutch, German and English source literature as well as the Community Currencies in Action (CCIA) publications, websites of the analysed local currencies and other studies in the field of financial law. The method of comparative analysis was used to examine the similarities and differences in supporting the implementation of the concept of sustainable development. The basic conclusion formulated after conducting the research is the fact that each local currency does support sustainable development in an indirect way. In addition, certain local currencies can be identified, in the case of which the support of sustainable development is the essence of their functioning. The effectiveness of the impact exerted by local currencies on sustainable development depends on the involvement of the creators of these currency systems and the specificity of the existing conditions. The ability to establish partnerships between non-governmental organisations, business entities and public administration may also play a significant role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article asks the question if the vision of participative management in 'Wymiennik' - articulated by the founders of the system and described in "Wymiennik Community Rules" - relates to the practical realization of the participation model. The author shows problems associated with introducing the idea of direct democracy on the example of the grassroots, urban, and niche 'Wymiennik' initiative and referring to the experience of the Occupy Wall Street movement described by Manuel Castells. The conflicts within the Warsaw community will be shown, which were the effect of the experiment with the management model. The term consensus as stasis made by Marcus Miessen will be used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of community currency systems have been adopted, implemented, and terminated among the local communities of Korea over the last two decades. Despite its volatility due to the economic, social, and political environmental changes occurring in Korean society, the Hanbat local exchange trading system (LETS) is regarded as an innovative practice in grassroots community currency schemes based on trust and cooperation among local residents and plays a critical role in promoting community rebuilding and the formation of a sharing economy in this area. This study is aimed at empirically investigating the microprocesses underlying the formation of multiple types of social capital—bonding, bridging, and linking social capital—that were observed in the transactions among the Hanbat LETS members through inferential network analysis. The findings show that bonding and bridging social capital coexist in both a singular (or uniplex) type and in distinct (or multiplex) types of transactional tie developments among the participants through this community currency system. By examining the ways in which these multiple types of social capital are fostered through a bottom-up approach focused on a community currency system, the results of this study suggest the potential roles played by peer-to-peer support exchanges and the sharing economy in a local community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In some mountainous areas of Japan, the Ki-no-Eki system, in which wood is collected to thin the forest and is exchanged for community currency, has been specifically designed and implemented as a solution to current and emerging forest governance issues. This study aimed to capture the evolutionary processes of a complete communication network consisting of organizations that joined policy forums to help develop the Ki-no-Eki system. A total of 26 policy forums were held from 2011 to 2019 to discuss the adoption and implementation of the Ki-no-Eki system across Japan, and coattendance and the resultant policy discourses among 62 participating Ki-no-Eki organizations in these forums were regarded as dynamic communication network processes. We analyzed how policy communication networks formed and evolved to understand the underlying network dynamics driven by not only endogenous network processes—bonding and bridging social capital—but also exogenous effects defined by actors’ attributes. We employed the stochastic actor-oriented model for network dynamics to manage the collected longitudinal undirected network data. We found (i) the emergence of bonding social capital and (ii) homophilic and heterophilic connections in communication networks, which provided insightful explanations of the driving forces of social cohesion among Ki-no-Eki organizations engaged in forest management in Japan.

Community currencies have recently emerged as tools for assisting the disadvantaged. In order to make a contribution to the larger field of community currencies, the purpose of this research is to investigate how a financial institution evaluates community currency lending. We show, using an adverse selection model, the importance of the role of motivated financial institutions in the effectiveness of community currency loans for small entrepreneurs. If those institutions are unmotivated, the market collapses, and only traditional loans are offered. Additionally, if there is enough intrinsic motivation, the size of the loans also increases, which is beneficial to the borrowers. Finally, this paper emphasizes the importance of subsidies in this sector, which act as catalysts by increasing the likelihood that community currency loans will be offered, as well as increasing loan sizes.

We investigate the phenomenon of solidarity cryptocurrencies by combining the societal and communitarian aspects of the traditional community currencies with the the blockchain architecture chosen in a cryptocurrency project. We classify and analyze 20 selected solidarity cryptocurrencies from different countries according to three critical aspects of solidarity cryptocurrencies: scale, territorial scope and price stability. Analysis of these aspects is critical to understand the solidarity cryptocurrency concept that connects the originally separated universes of traditional community currencies and cryptocurrencies. This paper contributes to explain the emergent solidarity cryptocurrencies phenomenon by describing particular types captured by our classification. The main findings about solidarity cryptocurrencies in this study are, first, the alignment between type of governance and the respective architecture platform; second, those with closed governance are more likely to be pegged on fiat currencies or other stable measures; third, those focused on local issues tend to have a higher level of adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our research investigated how to balance ocean-oriented island culture and materialist tourist industry development while our society moves into the pandemic era.　Lanyu, where indigenous people reside, has an abundance of the Tao tribe's ocean-centered culture.　However, tourism brings many problems, especially an overwhelming amount of garbage, environmental damage, and socio-cultural value-related issues.　 From 2018 to 2020, we participated in a blockchain-based local currency trial named the Tao Coins and ID passports experiment, led by a technological company that interacted with key local persons and grassroots conservation organizations.　Based on a participatory process and qualitative research methods, including interviews and environmental observations, we developed the small-island eco-tourism research project of the Lanyu.　We present the initial stage of the Tao Coin trial in this paper that consists of four sections.　 First, we introduce the background of Lanyu Island and the Tao tribe's cultural landscape.　Secondly, we elaborate on the tourism crisis of Lanyu Island.　Tourists, with their garbage, and the marine waste flooding in the surrounding ocean have burdened the ecological system of Lanyu Island.　Thirdly, we investigate the flying fish sharing systems within the Tao cultural practice including boat-building teams, fishing groups, and the egalitarian distribution of fish.　Fourthly, we explain the Tao Coin experiment initiated by a blockchain-based IT company.　The goal of the Tao Coin, originally, was to call for tourists' environmental awareness.　In conclusion, we analyze how the Tao Coin experiment failed through the perspective of the Tao's sharing culture system.　We found that, from the aspect of "sharing," although the social system of sharing with the Tao has changed a lot, it still exists in different forms.　The Tao Coin is a distinct way to build the value of "sharing." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research analyzes the feasibility of adopting a common currency in South America using the Optimal Monetary Areas theory. Taking into account that the relative dominance of regional shocks in local output is considered a key indicator to adopt a regional currency, we use a structural vector autoregression (SVAR) model to determine what type of shock —among global, regional or country specific— prevails in South American economies. The results of variance decomposition demonstrate that the output trajectory of South American countries is mainly explained by country-specific shocks; therefore, South America as a whole is not considered not an optimal monetary area. However, we identified a group of countries —named Sud-5 (comprised of Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil and Argentina)— for which the costs of a hypothetical monetary union would be relatively lower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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For the further development and more efficient operation of the sharing economy, a fast and inexpensive peer-to-peer payment system is an essential element. The aim of this study is to outline a prototype that ensures the automation and decentralization of processes through smart contracts without blockchain technology. The model has been built based on the narrative that a community currency created through smart contracts can promote genuine practices of sharing as opposed to the profit-oriented approach that most of the currently operating sharing economy platforms have. Features of the model, such as ease of use, high-speed transactions without transaction cost are benefits that can provide a more efficient alternative to the traditional or to the cryptocurrency-based centralized sharing economy platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the emergence of complementary currencies in the 1980s there have been numerous attempts to classify them, despite that the terms local currency, community currency and many others describing place-based monetary tools are not considered similarly by scholars. The local currencies take many forms, and local governments play different roles in their emergence and development. In Hungary there has been an increasing attention and discussion around the idea of implementing these alternative monetary tools. There is a growing number of working complementary currencies in Hungary, but academic research focuses mostly on whether these can contribute to the local development and what kind of effects they have. The aim of this paper is to present a possible categorization of Hungarian complementary currencies based on the role local governments played in their implementation. I evaluate whether these community currencies are effective at first, and attempt to categorize them based on their purpose, association form and their relationships with local governments, with the purpose of increasing awareness for these initiatives in the process of policy-making.

Through an ethnographic study of a women's empowerment program in Tehran, and in-depth interviews with its workers, I examine the hegemony of liberal feminist conceptions of empowerment among secular and cosmopolitan middle-class activists and NGO directors. This study demonstrates that activists' liberal conception of agency inadvertently erased the agency of the marginalized clients and their rights-based advocacy did not equip the subaltern women with a framework of gender justice that would find currency in their communities. While NGO staff and administrators contested the practicality of advocacy for sexual autonomy among marginalized women, the subaltern clients rejected the culturally reductionist accounts of their oppression by prioritizing economic justice. Rather than positing liberal and secular feminist discourses as over-determining, this study reveals that local actors continuously debate and contest globally circulating "women's rights packages" in accordance with local norms, their standpoint, and lived experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examining how new forms of currencies diffuse is important to uncover their impact on the organization of communities, and thus motivates our study of community currencies. Community currencies provide a medium of exchange by using alternative banknotes or electronic money, which circulates only within particular communities, allowing members to trade goods, increase social cohesion, and achieve collective goals. In this study, we examine how community currencies help facilitate social commons by serving as a setting for building community relationships and a catalyst for other social activities beyond market relations. We analyze cases of community banks that provide microfinance and issue community currencies in Brazil. We find that microfinance entrepreneurs who involve a greater diversity of stakeholders from public, private, and nonprofit sectors in decision making even prior to startup, while also facilitating the formation of supportive social capital from diverse cross-sector stakeholders, increase opportunities for developing new community currencies. By exploring the implications of entrepreneurial actions that promote inclusive participation of diverse stakeholders for accomplishing collective goals, our findings are relevant for other activities that create a common pool of resources while also developing the vitality of the community, including initiatives that use cryptocurrencies and other emerging forms of currencies for building social commons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community currencies are only sometimes economically advantageous. We focus on seasonal changes in money supply and assume that community currencies stabilize the money supply in a local community. This leads to additional transactions during seasons of insufficient supply of national currency. We hypothesize community currencies are therefore economically advantageous in a surrounding of seasonally insufficient money supply. We test the hypothesis qualitatively with two case studies, the German Chiemgauer and the Kenyan Sarafu Credit. We find community currencies are only economically advantageous in an environment of insufficient liquidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carrying local currencies into practice in limited geographical regions has become a major obstacle to overcome due to awareness and trust of potential users. In this context, the purpose of this research is to explore and examine how trust and knowledge of potential users about local currencies differ between their genders and working experiences. In line with this target, the researchers gained data from 413 workers in Cieszyn Silesia region by using questionnaire surveys. Chi-Square and Z-score tests were calculated by SPSS statistical software to get statistically significant differences between the determining variables. The analyses corroborated nonexistence of statistically significant differences between genders and work experiences in the local currency knowledge of potential users. Most of the respondents in the analyzed region were aware of local currencies. Publicity and prevalence of local currencies and mutual interactions between employees might be the reasons for the similarities in the knowledge of potential users. Furthermore, this study confirms that trust of workers differs regarding their gender and work experience. Comparing to men and more experienced potential users, the propensity of women and less experienced employees to trust local currencies is higher. The reasons for these differences in gender and work experiences might stem from the education levels, perceptions, adoptions, instincts and interests of potential users regarding these currencies. These results can be mounting evidence to consider for institutions, organizations, governments and practitioners when implementing local currencies to increase the competitiveness of less developed regions. This study is only limited to a region, and the respondents are only employees. Other limitations are that this research examines two obstacles of the implementations of local currencies and two characteristics of respondents, namely, age and work experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether regional currency premiums explain foreign stock returns in a multifactor global asset pricing model for four different geographical regions. In the model, the regional currency premium is the spread between the return of a portfolio of currency investments from a given region and the average global currency return. The estimation is performed by adding the regional currency premium to a global four‐factor model that includes momentum and the Fama and French factors (market, size, and book‐to‐market factors). Tests of the model's ability to explain both the time series and the cross section of stock returns show that currency risk premium improves the fitness of global factors in explaining domestic returns, although models with domestic factors still outperform the model with global factors and currency risk. The results indicate that the regional currency premium factor captures dimensions of risks not captured by the Fama and French and momentum factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on policies to promote the greater use of regional currencies in intra-regional trade and investment. This will reduce the dominance of the U.S. dollar and lessen the region's exposure to U.S. monetary conditions and monetary policy.A key focus in this paper is on policies to help set up efficient currency exchange markets to reduce currency exchange transaction costs. This is fundamental, as high currency exchange spreads between local currencies discourage local currency usage for trade and investment. China's policy to internationalize the RMB and set up offshore direct foreign exchange markets between the RMB and other currencies is also highlighted. Other important issues include the Local Currency Settlement Framework, the Asian Bond Market Initiative, and Asian Bond Funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]