Title: The credit crisis: a golden opportunity to extend localisation and stimulate genuinely sustainable local economic development

Authors: Julian Lamb; Karen Leach

Addresses: School of Property, Construction and Planning, Birmingham City University, Birmingham B42 2SU, UK. ' Localise West Midlands, The Warehouse, 54-57 Allison Street, Digbeth B5 5TH, UK

Abstract: The credit crisis and associated economic instability continues to cause great anxiety; and even after two years there appears little appetite to talk in terms of the |green shoots of recovery| (Woodcock, 2009; Nelson, 2011). Nevertheless, this crisis is clearly illuminating the inequitable and unsustainable ideologies of our economic system – and this is a rare opportunity which should be grasped by those who wish to promote alternative business and economic models. This paper draws upon findings from recent front-line research by |Localise West Midlands| and argues that the two main commercial practices that caused the credit crisis – the rapid expansion of business opportunity and the spreading of risk – can be diverted to become the economic solution for producing more resilient, sustainable communities based on a localised model of productive economy.

Keywords: green economics; credit crisis; ideologies; localisation; social construction; risk; banking; securitisation; sustainability; capitalism; local living economy; economic development; local development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGE.2011.042558

International Journal of Green Economics, 2011 Vol.5 No.2, pp.204 - 212

Published online: 16 Oct 2014 *

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