Dr. Yang Zhou's recent study on local currency and economic development | Economics Research Group
November 4, 2021

Dr. Yang Zhou's recent study on local currency and economic development

Dr. Yang Zhou has published a new study in the journal of Ecological Economics entitled "Money is money: The economic impact of BerkShares" (coauthored with Dr. Josh Matti from Georgia Gwinnett College). This paper uses a causal inference method is used to analyze the economic impact of a local currency, and the approach is applied to Berkshire County, MA following the introduction of BerkShares. It finds that BerkShares had no measurable impact on either the local economy or business dynamics, and the results caution against using local currencies as a development strategy.