Community Economics

Bigger has turned out not to be better. Servicing the global economy has exacted a heavy toll in the erosion of our communities and the destruction of our environment. Increasingly, we are coming to realize that the way forward looks a lot like the way back — back to strong local economies, back to resilient, tight-knit communities, back to the land and work that is real. As we chart our course through these uncertain times, we are hungry for inspiration.

A series of shifts are happening in our economy: Millennials are trading in conventional career paths to launch tech start-ups, start small businesses that are rooted in local communities, or freelance their expertise. We are sharing everything, from bikes and cars, to extra rooms in our homes. We now create, buy and sell handcrafted products in our local communities with ease. CEO of Imperative Aaron Hurst argues in his latest book that while these developments seem unrelated at first, taken together they reveal a powerful pattern that points to purpose as the new driver of the American economy.

A leading candidate for governor of California shows how populism can be a positive force for improving lives, with revolutionary ideas to restore the economic security that working Americans once took for granted Fox News contributor and former government insider Steve Hilton gets what...

Whether the term "Black Wall Street" is familiar to you or not, this new audiobook, Black to the Future: Lessons from Black Wall Street for Community and Economic Prosperity, will provide fresh insights into this community. Those insights include key takeaways for the present day. In it, we will explore in detail how specific Black business pioneers and neighborhood residents created a sustainable model for community growth and empowerment.

All over the world, Black and racialized women engage in the solidarity economy through what is known as mutual aid financing. Formally referred to as rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs), these institutions are purposefully informal to support the women’s livelihoods and social needs, and they act to reject tiered forms of neo-liberal development. The Banker Ladies–a term coined by women in the Black diaspora–are individuals that voluntarily organize ROSCAs for self-sufficiency and are intentional in their politicized economic co-operation to counter business exclusion.

For readers of The Least of Us and In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts--a practical, hopeful, and research-based guide for supporting loved ones through addiction and recovery. This isn’t a book about addiction--it’s a book about recovery. Written for every loved one, community member, and...

A meditative exploration of how people watching encourages us to be more curious about those around us, teaches us to decode our unique quirks and universal similarities, and enriches our digital-first lives The fascinating practice of people watching is beginning to disappear. Whether we’re...

What does the good news of Jesus mean for economics? Too often, Christian teaching and ministry have focused only on the gospel's spiritual significance and ignored its physical, real-world ramifications. But loving our neighbor well has direct economic implications, and in our diverse and stratified society we need to grapple with them now more than ever. In The Economics of Neighborly Love pastor Tom Nelson sets out to address this problem.