Eco-localism and sustainability

Economic sustainability is best secured by the creation of local or regional self-reliant, community economies. This is the central argument of eco-local economic theory. Drawing on the experience of local currencies, community corporations, regional food economies and other locally oriented efforts, eco-local theory presents a new analysis of the "economy of place". It focuses on locally symbiotic capital, positive externalities of self-reliance and negative externalities of long-distance trade, and its specific concepts and analyses of the economy, efficiency and economies of scale, and consumption and welfare. Given its specific values and assumptions, it is an economic theory of the social economy that is compatible with, but distinct from, ecological economics. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.