Calgary Dollars: Economic and Social Capital Benefits

Abstract

The Calgary Dollars complementary currency, which began in 1996, contributes to the knowledge of complementary currencies through repeated measurement of social and economic capital outcomes. This brief article provides a literature review and references some relevant government endorsements of complementary currency including the City of Calgary and the Alberta provincial complementary currency of 1936. Summaries of demographics and participants quotations are provided. Calgary research findings from 2002/2003, 2009, and 2010 are reviewed. Economic capital benefits are found to include complementary currency purchases as well as national currency and barter transactions resulting from Calgary Dollars participation. The findings suggest that both social and economic capital benefits are realized by Calgary Dollars participants and that benefits increase with the length of participation.