Local Currencies as an Instrument for Implementing the Concept of Sustainable Development

The concept of sustainable development is multifaceted and multithreaded, thus, it inspires many researchers both in terms of the theory and methodology, as well as regarding its application. The presented article is placed in the latter approach. The main aim of the paper is to analyse the possibilities of the use of (resurging in the 20th and 21st centuries) local currencies for sustainable development, especially in respect of: alleviating poverty and reducing social exclusion, promoting stable, sustainable, and inclusive economic growth, diminishing discrepancies within and amongst states, making cities and human districts more secure, stable, sustainable, and favourable for social inclusion, assuring patterns of sustainable consumption and production. Apart from that, the criticism of the state money, included in the Club of Rome’s report, encouraged the author to set another goal, i.e. to examine whether a local currency is a better instrument for sustainable development than state money.

The aims of the paper are supported by the analyses of three case studies of local currencies, i.e.: Palmas (Brazil), NuSpaarPas (Netherlands), and Zielony (Green, Poland). All considerations are set against the background of general trends regarding the development of currency systems and the evolution of money functions, as well as foreign and local experience connected with the existence and evolution of the local currencies.