Papers

On rethinking the 'Economy'

The following papers present how a vision of a 'diverse economy' is inspiring new projects of economic becoming.

Discussing hidden and alternative economies
in Massachusetts, USA

A diverse economy: rethinking economy and economic representation
JK Gibson-Graham
A short discussion of our evolving thoughts about the diverse economy. Introduces a framework that focuses on the diversity of three economic moments: exchange transactions, performing labour and organizing the production, appropriation and distribution of surplus.

Feminising the economy
Jenny Cameron & JK Gibson-Graham
Exploring how recent feminist thinkers are attempting to add women into the economy.

Imagining and enacting non-capitalist futures
Community Economies Collective
Outlines the 'politics of becoming' associated with desiring and building communal economies.

Beyond global vs local
JK Gibson-Graham
Offers a counter to the common denigration of local economic politics 'in the face of globalization'.

Old section of the Basque town of Mondragon

An ethics of the local
JK Gibson-Graham
Principles and practices for cultivating a local ethics of economic transformation.

Enabling ethical economies: cooperativism and class
JK Gibson-Graham
Situates contemporary evaluations of the ‘success’ of Spain’s Mondragon cooperative complex within a tradition of debate about the politics of economic transformation and argues for the development of an economics of surplus that can guide ethical decisions in community economies.

Asset-based community and economic development: implications for the social capital debate
J Cameron
Explores some of the limits of measuring and monitoring social capital.

Oil palm harvest, PNG

Improving productivity of the smallholder oil palm sector in Papua New Guinea: a socio-economic study of the Hoskins and Popondetta Schemes
G Koczberski, G Curry and K Gibson
A project aimed at increasing oil palm productivity in the smallholder sector that also explores the productivity of the diverse community economies that smallholders participate in.

• Contents
• 1 Background to oil palm in PNG
• 2 Formulation of problem and research design
• 3 Livelihood strategies
• 4 Maintaining livelihood strategies in the context of rising population pressure
• 5 Smallholder household production units
• 6 Land tenure and land disputes in the smallholder sector
• 7 Industry and OPIC interventions
• 8 The mama lus frut scheme and proposed new payment scheme
• 9 Conclusions and recommendations
• References
• Appendices

On Community Economies

What are community economies?
How can they be strengthened or built?

The following papers present theoretical and practical approaches to these questions.

Making and marketing Ube sweets
in Bohol, Philippines

Community economies: economic politics outside the binary frame
K Gibson
Script of a presentation about the contradictory politics of "community" and how this website might help to redefine mainstream understandings of both community and economy.

Women and economic activism in the Asia Pacific region
K Gibson
How women's activism in the Philippines, China and Papua New Guinea is helping build and strengthen community economies.

Building Community Economies: A Postcapitalist Project of Sustainable Development
S Healy and J Graham
Explores how the idea of sustainable development might be transformed from an impossible dream (sabotaged at every turn by the force various identified as "capitalism", "the market," "modernization," and "development") into a realistic and attainble project for organizations and communities.

Transforming communities: towards a research agenda
K Gibson and J Cameron
A review of Australian research and policy interventions aimed at communities and regions from the perspective of the Community Economies Project.

Recycling enterprise in Canberra, Australia

Negotiating restructuring: a study of regional communities experiencing rapid social and economic change
K Gibson, J Cameron and A Veno
How two communities in regional Victoria, Australia are beginning to rethink their relationship to processes of economic restructuring.

Collaborating with communities: an assets-based approach to community and economic development
J Cameron
This paper outlines a collaborative approach to working with local residents in marginalised communities to develop community and economic development projects. The paper draws from action research conducted in the Latrobe Valley, Victoria, and Eagleby and Logan City, Queensland.

Alternative Pathways to Community and Economic Development: The Latrobe Valley Community Partnering Project
J Cameron and K Gibson
Based on the Latrobe Valley Community Partnering Project, this paper introduces new ways of understanding disadvantaged areas, the economy, community and the research process in order to open up new ways of addressing social and economic issues.

On Research Practice

Focussing on the Focus Group
J Cameron
A discussion of what focus groups are and can achieve, and how they have been used in Community Economies research.

Constructing the community economy: civic professionalism and the politics of sustainable regions
J Graham, S Healy and K Byrne
Outlines the Rethinking Economy action research project in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts, highlighting the role of academy-community partnerships in constructing community economies.

Participatory Action Research in a Poststructuralist Vein
J Cameron and K Gibson
This paper introduces a poststructuralist influenced participatory action research project seeking to develop new pathways for economic and community development in the context of a declining region.

Building Community Economies in Marginalised Areas
J Cameron and K Gibson
Elaborates an economic and social policy response to disadvantage that builds on the skills and ideas of marginalised groups.

Representing Marginalisation: Finding New Avenues for Economic and Social Intervention
J Cameron and K Gibson
Discusses the limiting ways in which people in marginalised areas are portrayed in policy and research, and introduces a different way of representing marginalised groups and the more enabling economic and social policies that result.

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