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| A Cultural Revolution poster (Source: Wikipedia) |
(To be continued in Part 2)
Cheers
zhusun
Further reading:
Wednesday 9 January 2013
China, the Manufacturing Capital of the World... to-be (Part 1)
America was once very much like China, the manufacturing power-house of the world. America's manufacturing sector enjoyed being the world's largest and the most advanced starting from the late 1890's, surpassing Britain. Some say the wars helped boost America's economy, especially after the Great Depression of the 1930's, due to higher production of uniforms, weaponry etc.
It was not until the late 1970's that America started off-shoring manufacturing jobs to counties such as China because that was when China started relaxing regulations and encouraged foreign investment. During that time, China was undergoing economic reforms to make it more efficient and stimulate higher economic growth. At this time, many people in China were still very poor and had dismal living conditions. You could say that this low standard of living was due to the communist regime and the Cultural Revolution of 1966-76. The Cultural Revolution aimed to make China more communist and 'modern' but the effects were devastating as economic activities slowed and stopped. Therefore, it was important for China to have economic reforms to try to bring China out of an economic slumber.
Thursday 3 January 2013
What are Regional Currencies? (Part 2)
(Continued from Part 1)
That is not to say the residents of the respective regions took in the new currencies with open arms. As it is with human nature, the residents were weary at first, reluctant to participate but after 8 years, as in the case of the Chiemgauer, things took off. The Chiemgauer in its fledgling year had a dismal turnover of €75,000, but by 2011, its turnover increased to €6 200 000. Now over 600 businesses in the region accept the currency and according to reports, the residents are happy with it. After all, 1 Chiemgauer is exchangeable for 1 euro, so I guess the residents don't lose out at all.With the Berkshare, it is another success story. Last year, over 400 businesses accepted the Berkshare. In just 30 months from its launch, about 2.2 Berkshares were issued.
Regional currencies are introduced for several reasons - although the Chiemgauer did start out as a school project, it has brought benefits to the region's people and economy. Similarly, the Berkshares have gain immense attention from non-users as the financial cirsis hit the Western world in 2008. It seems that with the Berkshare, the Berkshire economy was able to stay relatively intact and stable, although the Berkshare is still backed by the US dollar, the local currency still succeeds in retaining wealth within the community.
However, there are downsides as well, the BerkShare, being backed by the US dollar, is still vulnerable to volatility in the US economy in general. The Chiemgauer does present a catch, if the note is not used within 3 months, its value depreciates and renewing the expired requires the holder to pay a sort of penalty.
I think having regional currencies is a good idea if the people in the community are willing to participate and support it fully. Otherwise, it would be hassle trying to pay for some goods at a local shop. The regional currency, of course, has many limitations, such as not being accepted outside of the specific region. I wonder, if any regional currency ever got to a stage of being so influential that it could match even a quarter, or even one tenth, of the country's currency turnover or profit, would it be a significant threat to the country's currency?
(Concluded)
Cheers
zhusun
Further reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_currency
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiemgauer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BerkShares
That is not to say the residents of the respective regions took in the new currencies with open arms. As it is with human nature, the residents were weary at first, reluctant to participate but after 8 years, as in the case of the Chiemgauer, things took off. The Chiemgauer in its fledgling year had a dismal turnover of €75,000, but by 2011, its turnover increased to €6 200 000. Now over 600 businesses in the region accept the currency and according to reports, the residents are happy with it. After all, 1 Chiemgauer is exchangeable for 1 euro, so I guess the residents don't lose out at all.With the Berkshare, it is another success story. Last year, over 400 businesses accepted the Berkshare. In just 30 months from its launch, about 2.2 Berkshares were issued.
 |
| Berkshares (Source: Wikipedia) |
 |
| Chiemgauer (Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1540939/Rival-to-euro-as-Germans-cash-in-on-currency.html) |
Regional currencies are introduced for several reasons - although the Chiemgauer did start out as a school project, it has brought benefits to the region's people and economy. Similarly, the Berkshares have gain immense attention from non-users as the financial cirsis hit the Western world in 2008. It seems that with the Berkshare, the Berkshire economy was able to stay relatively intact and stable, although the Berkshare is still backed by the US dollar, the local currency still succeeds in retaining wealth within the community.
However, there are downsides as well, the BerkShare, being backed by the US dollar, is still vulnerable to volatility in the US economy in general. The Chiemgauer does present a catch, if the note is not used within 3 months, its value depreciates and renewing the expired requires the holder to pay a sort of penalty.
I think having regional currencies is a good idea if the people in the community are willing to participate and support it fully. Otherwise, it would be hassle trying to pay for some goods at a local shop. The regional currency, of course, has many limitations, such as not being accepted outside of the specific region. I wonder, if any regional currency ever got to a stage of being so influential that it could match even a quarter, or even one tenth, of the country's currency turnover or profit, would it be a significant threat to the country's currency?
(Concluded)
Cheers
zhusun
Further reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_currency
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiemgauer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BerkShares
What are Regional Currencies? (Part 1)
On September 19th 2012, the latest city in the UK to have its own regional currency is the city of Bristol. It is known as the Bristol Pound (£B) and it comes in four denominations: 1, 5, 10 and 20. Good news for the residents of Bristol, because one Bristol Pound is exactly exchangeable for one pound sterling. The Bristol Pound denominations are complete with designs submitted by those in the community.
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| Bristol Pound denominations (Source: http://bristolpound.org/news?id=3) |
There are many synonyms for 'regional currency', including local currency, community currency and alternative currencies, though they do not necessarily have the exact same meaning. We will focus on local currency and regional currency here.
Two of the most well-known local/regional currencies include the Chiemgauer and the Berkshare. The Chiemgauer is used in Prien am Chiemsee, Bavaria, Germany and was introduced in 2003; the Berkshare was introduced in September 2006 in the region of Berkshire, Massachusetts, USA. They are popular with residents of respective regions.
(To be continued in Part 2)
Cheers
zhusun
(To be continued in Part 2)
Cheers
zhusun
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