Local Currency Essays

Local Currency Essays by Robert Swann

The Politics of Money by Hazel Henderson

Local Currency Studies

The New Wealth of Time: How timebanking helps people build better public services by the New Economics Foundation

Initial Results of WIR Research in Switzerland by Erick S. Hansch

Time Banks, A Radical Manifesto for the UK by David Boyle

Community Cash Road Map, by SEIU Florida Public Services Union, 2011

Legal Resources

"Legal Aspects of Local Currency," Chapter 7 from Rethinking Our Centralized Monetary System: the Case for a System of Local Currencies, by Lewis D. Solomon, professor of law at George Washington University.

Foreword by Robert Swann & Chapter Notes, copyright © 1996 by Lewis D. Solomon, published by Praeger Press. Used here with the kind permission of Professor Solomon and the Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., Westport, CT.

Local Currencies Aiding Municipalities in Recovery, Concept Paper by Susan Witt. April 19, 2020.

Local Currencies in the 21st Century Conference


In June of 2004 the Schumacher Center for New Economics convened the conference "Local Currencies in the 21st Century". The conference report and UTNE Reader article provide details on this landmark event, described by Pete Seeger as "the best conference he had ever attended".

To see the full schedule of events and to read the workshop descriptions and speaker biographies, see the PDF of the Conference packet.

Below are transcribed lectures from the Conference:

Books and Book Excerpts

The Natural Economic Order by Silvio Gesell, 1906
Introduction  |  Part 1   |  Part 2   |  Part 3   |  Part 4  |  Part 5

Stamp Scrip  by Irving Fisher, LL.D. (Professor of Economics, Yale University)
Assisted by Hans R. L. Cohrssen and Herbert W. Fisher
New York; Adelphi Company; Publishers; Copyright 1933

Money and Debt : A Solution to the Global Crisis  by Thomas H. Greco, Jr., 1990

Interest and Inflation Free Money  by Margrit Kennedy, 1995

Democratic Money: The Case for a Decentralized Monetary System 
by Bryn Meyer, 2001.  (Used here with permission of the author)
Introduction & Chapter 1   |   Chapter 2   |   Chapter 3   |   Chapter 4   |   Chapter 5 & Conclusion

Money: How to Make It Happen in Your Community  by Peter North, 2010

Local Currency Resources

Cyclos - Chosen as the most innovative payment technology by payment industry Cyclos is an open source currency accounting software developed by STRO (Social Trade Organization). It is used effectively in regions underserved by traditional banking systems.

STRO (Social Trade Organization) - A Dutch organization that is a leader in developing and implementing local currencies world wide.

Time Banks - Time Banks are a tool for building community. Time banks involve people on the basis of what they enjoy and can do. They provide the missing ingredient in public services—people's participation—by encouraging time givers of all ages and abilities to deposit their time and get that time back when they want some help themselves. Also visit Time Banks USA for a TimeBanks Directory as well as Start-Up Kits and other helpful information and materials.

In addition, many bartering organizations have begun to develop using a method similar to time bank programing, including OurGoods and Skillshare.

The WIR Bank, formerly the Swiss Economic Circle (GER: Wirtschaftsring-Genossenschaft), or WIR, is an independent credit and exchange system in Switzerland that serves small and medium-sized businesses. It exists as a bookkeeping system, using checks sent to the central office to facilitate transactions. The system has been in operation since the 1930s. In 2007 WIR exchange was valued at 1.6 billion Swiss Francs.

Positive Money is campaigning for the power to create money to be used in the public interest, in a democratic, transparent and accountable way, rather than by the same banks that caused the financial crisis.

RAMICS (Research Association on Monetary Innovation and Community and Complementary Currency Systems) - provides a framework for the International Journal of Community Currency Research (IJCCR), biennial conferences, and the Bibliography of Community Currency Research.

Qoin introduces, implements, and manages professional Community Currencies throughout Europe. Qoin built the B£e system, used by Brixton Pound members to make electronic payments in Brixton Pounds.

 Complementary Currency Resource Center - A compilation of the research of Stephen DeMeulenaere.

Open Money - A project initiated by Michael Linton, creator of LETS. It includes his writings on currency issue.

reinventingmoney.com - An online resource center set up by Tom Greco, consisting mainly of Tom's own writing, the writing of E.C. Riegel, John Zube among others on the issue of "monetary transformation."

www.geldreform.de - A German archive of materials for money, interest, and debt issues.

www.monneta.org - The website of Prof. Margrit Kennedy; “MONNETA wants to raise awareness that money is a social and social design tool that can be shaped…”

www.inwo.de - Website of the "Initiative for natural economic system"

https://unterguggenberger.org/ – Website for the Unterguggenberger Institute, named after Mayor Michael Unterguggenberger, who effectively combated the economic crisis in Wörgl in 1932/33 with Freigeld as a regional secondary currency.

http://www.socioeco.org/index_fr.html - A French database for research about social and solidarity economics.

https://livingeconomies.nz/ -  Living Economies Educational Trust's purpose is to promote learning about currencies, and systems of exchange, that foster community well-being and strengthen regional economies.

http://www.transaction.net/money/index.html - Descriptions of various money systems.

https://www.jnana.com.au/ - “Jnana Australia provides advice, design, and implementation of economic, political and sustainable living programs, problem-solving and education.”

http://www.vivirsinempleo.org/ - a Spanish blog from the author of “Vivir Sin Empleo” (live without employment”) that talks about local currency issues/alternative economics

http://www.monedasocial.org/ - The Institute of the Social Currency is a project of the INEVAL Foundation, dedicated to promoting human values ​​in the business world through the support of alternative monetary systems.

www.lietaer.com - Website of the late Prof. Bernard Lietaer, a prolific and influential author on local currency issues.

https://redlases.org/acerca-de-2/heloisa-primavera/ - Website of Heloisa Primavera, a blog that discusses issues in local currency and solidarity economics.

http://www.regionalentwicklung.de/?s=das+Zahlungsmittel - Articles about regional currency theory.

https://cpcc.webnode.com.br/bcd-jardim-bot%c3%a2nico/bcd-jardim-bot%c3%a2nico/docs/ - Documents/presentations on community banks and solidarity finance in Brazil (Portuguese).

https://herring-fife-a7xp.squarespace.com/communitycurrency - Collection of news reports and journal articles about local currencies from the Puerto Rico Peso project (mostly Spanish).

http://www.appropriate-economics.org/asia/asia.html - Reports about community exchange/currency systems in Asia.