Organizational mechanisms of alternative economic practices in Spanish cities

Abstract

Alternative economic practices are community-based forms of economic coordination that seek to solve the problem of the allocation of scarce resources through cooperation and reciprocity between all actors involved in the provision of goods and services. This article studies the organizational schemes particular to these alternative economies. Using a sample of 67 cases from eight Spanish cities, individualized information has been collected on nine variables: legal form, ownership of resources, funding procedures, forms of labor remuneration, mode of market access (for producers), mode of access to the good/service (for consumers), means of payment, headquarters, and geographical scale of action. The results demonstrate the predominance of certain organizational mechanisms that mark the distinctive profile of these alternative practices. However, there has also been a presence of certain capitalist traits; a key factor that highlights the internal diversity of the world of critical economies.