Abstract
Numerous outcomes of the theoretical and empirical studies on community/local currency systems indicate that the activities of these systems have several socioeconomic effects on regional communities. However, it is difficult to state that these systems have succeeded in terms of their practical operations in recent years. In order to cope with this difficulty, we propose two points: (1) problems of interface between the community currency transactional schemes and their practical use by participants and (2) problems with operational assessment of these systems. Regarding (1), we examined whether transactions are conducted in the theoretically assumed manner. Regarding (2), we propose a social effect (a number of interpersonal relationships developed through transactions) as a measure for assessment of these systems.
Questionnaire surveys were conducted and transactional records were gathered for a social network analysis on two community currency associations (“BYTS” in Stockholm and “Ichi-Muraoka” in Kami-cho). Based on a comparative analysis, we conclude that (a) community currency transactions are not conducted in the theoretically assumed manner, and (b) each region has its unique social and environmental context, so the manner in which transactions are conducted and social effects provided vary among regions, indicating that (c) community currency transactional schemes should be modified according to the uniqueness of a region.
JEL classification: P25, P46, C10
