Today’s governments are confronted with enormous challenges: a pressing need to cut in public budget expenditures. Complementary currencies seem to be a potential instrument for governments that can be employed to realize specific social goals while saving on the expenses of (ordinary) money and public expenditures. Globally, a vast amount of diverse complementary currencies is in place. These programs try to solve very specific social issues within society.
Complementary currencies depart from the notion that money is essentially a human invention and instrument to influence the relations between citizens and organizations. A solid theoretical framework legitimizes this idea and in the past hundred years a lot of experimentation and experience was picked up with realizing social goals by the implementation of complementary currencies.
However, intelligence on complementary currencies is dispersed: there’s an abundance of authors, academics and experts that have published books, websites, articles and leaflets and organized seminars, congresses and workshops. Information is often insufficiently documented and on some relevant subjects sources seem to be contradictory. This body of knowledge aims for bringing understanding and clarity; it provides an overview of the most important complementary currencies that exist today. Its goal is to provide and disclose information in an impartial manner, making it easier to apply and integrate knowledge on complementary currencies to real issues.
Please go to:
Local Exchange & Trading Systems (LETS)
Relevant Experts on Community Currencies
Relevant Literature on Community Currencies