BALLE followers are well aware that shared ownership is crucial for building real prosperity in our local economies. Democratic ownership, in which a group shares the responsibilities and the benefits of owning land or a business, has been practiced by human beings since there were human beings – individual or corporate ownership is a relatively new way of organizing ourselves. We have reason to believe that a healthy mix of ownership structures provides the best environment for local places to thrive.
In BALLE's publication "Growing Local Living Economies," authors Michael Shuman and Kate Poole identified a few specific shared enterprises that would contribute to healthy economic development. These included ways to promote local purchasing, such as a coupon book, local debit card, or local currency; business partnerships, such as a procurement cooperative, local business mall, or commercial land trust; community capital, such as a community loan fund or investor network; and entrepreneurship support, through incubators or business development companies.
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