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Complementary Currencies for Humanitarian Aid

Author

Listed:
  • Leanne Ussher

    (Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy, Copenhagen Business School, 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark
    Wolfram Blockchain Labs, Wolfram Research, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
    Center for Civic Engagement, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504, USA)

  • Laura Ebert

    (Department of Economics, State University of New York at New Paltz, New Paltz, NY 12561, USA)

  • Georgina M. Gómez

    (Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 3062 Rotterdam, The Netherlands)

  • William O. Ruddick

    (Grassroots Economics Foundation, Kilifi 80108, Kenya
    Institute for Leadership and Sustainability, University of Cumbria, London E14 6JE, UK)

Abstract

The humanitarian sector has gone through a major shift toward injection of cash into vulnerable communities as its core modality. On this trajectory toward direct currency injection, something new has happened: namely the empowerment of communities to create their own local currencies, a tool known as Complementary Currency systems. This study mobilizes the concepts of endogenous regional development, import substitution and local market linkages as elaborated by Albert Hirschman and Jane Jacobs, to analyze the impact of a group of Complementary Currencies instituted by Grassroots Economics Foundation and the Red Cross in Kenya. The paper discusses humanitarian Cash and Voucher Assistance programs and compares them to a Complementary Currency system using Grassroots Economics as a case study. Transaction histories recorded on a blockchain and network visualizations show the ability of these Complementary Currencies to create diverse production capacity, dense local supply chains, and data for measuring the impact of humanitarian currency transfers. Since Complementary Currency systems prioritize both cooperation and localization, the paper argues that Complementary Currencies should become one of the tools in the Cash and Voucher Assistance toolbox.

Suggested Citation

  • Leanne Ussher & Laura Ebert & Georgina M. Gómez & William O. Ruddick, 2021. "Complementary Currencies for Humanitarian Aid," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-30, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:14:y:2021:i:11:p:557-:d:681600
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Carolina E S Mattsson & Teodoro Criscione & Frank W Takes, 2022. "Circulation of a digital community currency," Papers 2207.08941, arXiv.org, revised Jun 2023.
    2. Carolina E. S. Mattsson & Allison Luedtke & Frank W. Takes, 2022. "Inverse estimation of the transfer velocity of money," Papers 2209.01512, arXiv.org, revised Jul 2023.

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