International Journal of Community Currency Research

Subject: International Journal of Community Currency Research
Date: Sun, 8 Apr 2001 13:55:46 -0400 (EDT)

International Journal of Community Currency Research

http://www.ijccr.net/IJCCR/IJCCR_Home.html

The aim of this journal is to provide a forum for the dissemination of
knowledge and understanding about the emerging array of community
currencies being used throughout the world both at present and in the
past.

Community currencies are here defined widely to encompass the full range
of possible currency systems. Our desire is to facilitate analysis not
only of those systems currently in use, including the 'money-based'
systems such as LETS, time-based systems such as time-dollars and Ithaca
hours, other scrip-based community exchanges as well as business trade
exchanges, but also to provide an arena in which the historical use of
community currencies can be explored.

Articles which provide an informed theoretical perspective as well as
empirical investigations of community currency systems are encouraged. We
welcome contributions which explore both the historical and contemporary
uses of such currencies. Up until now, there has been far too little
analysis of the use of community currencies historically. The result is a
poverty of information available for contemporary systems to learn lessons
from the past. Indeed, most of the community currencies operating at
present have very short histories. Whilst 'business barter' and 'trade
exchanges' have been expanding since the 1970s, other more local and
person-centred systems such as LETS, Hours and time-dollars have only
emerged during the past decade or so, particularly in North America,
Australia, New Zealand and, in the last few years, the UK and other
European nations.

Other than publicity pieces in the popular media, it is difficult to find
articles of a theoretical nature on the more established world of the
business trade exchange (BTE). In any case the communication gap between
the profit-driven, professional and relatively secretive BTEs, and the
more open, community-oriented and (in comparison) lay community currency
practitioner is only slightly broader than the town-gown gap between the
'activist' and the 'academic'. Hence this journal. We seek to bridge these
gaps in knowledge, practice and communication. Not only have there been
few empirical studies of such systems but neither has there been much
attempt to theorise them. We seek to provide a common forum for informed
articulation and debate of empirical, critical and theoretical research on
community currencies.

To a major extent, this project of launching a new journal is dependent
upon its readers and contributors for its success. We believe, however,
that the rapid expansion of interest in community currencies throughout
the world is sufficient reason to justify its launch in this relatively
inexpensive, broadly accessible medium. To establish a new hard copy
journal requires many hours of work and large amounts of 'hard' currency
and then similar expenditures in finding and distributing to a 'market'.
'Printing' and 'distributing' on the net is far and away the more
attractive option when given the comparatively limited yet earnest
'market' on offer.

Contact:

Editors

Colin C. Williams, ccw3@le.ac.uk

Graham R. Irwin, graham@compassion-in-business.co.uk

International Journal of Community Currency Research is available free of charge 
as an Open Access journal on the Internet.