SGRA Report in English

Sustainable Shared Growth Policy Brief 2

Sustainable Shared Growth Policy Brief #2

COMMUNITY CURRENCY IN A DISASTER: 3.11 TWICE REMEMBERED by Max Maquito and Joffre Balce

April 20, 2020

Summary. The Policy Brief’s aim is to glean lessons from the March 2011 tsunami disaster that struck Japan that are relevant to the current pandemic. Buttressing the extensive hard infrastructure was the soft infrastructure embodied in the social capital of Japanese communities which contributed to the simultaneous diminished vulnerability and improved resiliency of these communities. This paper further focuses on community currencies as a policy instrument whose functions are to enhance social capital and hasten the movement of money, thereby contributing to reducing vulnerability and enhancing resiliency of communities.

Policy Brief