Announcing the most recent additions to the International Journal of
Community Currency Research.

http://www.uea.ac.uk/env/ijccr/index.html




RESEARCH ARTICLE

Community Currency: An Approach To Economic Sustainability In Our Local
Bioregion

Natalie Terese Soder
nts4@...

International Journal of Community Currency Research
Vol 12 (2008) pp. 24-52
ISSN 1325-9547

Throughout the United States many rural areas face challenges to economic
sustainability. Community currency attempts to confront these challenges by
ensuring that wealth and resources are maintained within a region. The
specific research question investigated in this article is, "Why do
individuals participate in community currency movements and does that
participation actually promote economic sustainability?" Social identity
theory, social exchange theory and the concept of social capital guided the
analysis for participation in the Humboldt Exchange. Key informant
interviews and the Humboldt Exchange Survey 2008 were methods used to answer
the research question. Survey data reveals that 44% of the Humboldt State
University is aware of community currency, while 80% are unaware of the
Exchange. Qualitative findings propose that individuals participate in the
Humboldt Exchange because they have goods and services to exchange with
others, whom they identify with, because doing so ensures that a certain
amount of wealth and resources are maintained locally. However, as survey
data shows, lack of awareness of the Humboldt Exchange essentially prohibits
any form of economic sustainability, since this sustainability is only
possible through considerable participation in the Exchange.


REPORT

2007 Yearly Report of the Worldwide Database of Complementary Currency
Systems,

Stephen DeMeulenaere
stephen@...

International Journal of Community Currency Research
Vol 12 (2008) pp. 2-19
ISSN 1325-9547

The Worldwide Database of Complementary Currency Systems is designed to
collect vital statistics on a broad variety of indicators related to the
function of all types of complementary currency systems. The reason for
collecting this information is to provide an accurate statistical and
scientific understanding of different types of systems and identify a set of
performance indicators from which to make comparisons. From this foundation
of knowledge our intention is to open a communication channel that links
complementary currency systems together to allow experience, information and
knowledge to be exchanged, which contributes to the improvement and growth
of our efforts. The information is presented in a wide variety of ways:
according to the region, country and the indicators listed, in table and
graph forms, using both bar and pie charts. This level of simplicity and
flexibility creates a complexity that is sufficient to allow researchers to
drill for information from the international level all the way down to the
community level.



BOOK REVIEW

Peter North (2006) Alternative Currency Movements as a Challenge to
Globalisation? A Case Study of Manchester's Local Currency Networks.
<http://www.uea.ac.uk/env/ijccr/pdfs/IJCCR%20vol%2012%20%282008%29%20review1
.pdf> Reviewed by Manon Boulianne



---------------------------------------
Dr Gill Seyfang
RCUK Academic Fellow
School of Environmental Sciences
University of East Anglia
Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK

tel: +44 (0) 1603 592956
personal: http://www.uea.ac.uk/~e175/
department: http://www.uea.ac.uk/env/

Editor, International Journal of Community Currency Research:
http://www.uea.ac.uk/env/ijccr/