Des monnaies locales pour le développement territorial ? Une application de la théorie de la base économique aux monnaies locales convertibles

In this article, I analyse the functioning of convertible local currencies (CLC) through the economic base theory. I thereby highlight CLC' mechanisms that can contribute to the development of the territorial economy, in particular the internalisation of their members' demand inside their communities. Indeed, CLCs might impact the circulation of income within the local economy by limiting the outflow of income from the territory and increasing its circulation within the domestic sector. CLCs therefore fit more specifically into consumer base theory, which promotes endogenous territorial development by directing local demand towards local production. However, CLCs users gather only a fraction of local actors, their members having to choose to join and, for companies, to be certified by the managing organisations. CLCs therefore only support the development of specific communities, who share similar values and practices, but whose growth can transform territorial economies. Nevertheless, in order for the demand internalisation to really benefit the economic development of their sub-territorial community, it is necessary to determine whether it really irrigates productive activities and not only distribution ones. To investigate which part of the economy is mostly supported by the internalisation of the users' demand, I analyse the digital transaction data from the SoNantes and the Eusko, two French CLCs. The two CLCs are essentially implanted in the domestic sectors. If the SoNantes integrates more companies dedicated to productive activities support than the Eusko, the two CLCs mainly irrigate activities geared towards distribution and household consumption. The circulation of income from these sectors to productive activities remains low, limiting their economic development support potential.