Community-based economics or just community economics encourages local substitution and a rejection of outside energy subsidy and coercion. It is most familiar from the lifeways of those practicing voluntary simplicity, including traditional Mennonite, Amish, and modern eco-village communities.

However, it is also increasingly a priority in urban economics, where moral purchasing and local purchasing are increasingly cogent concerns.

Various specific programs for community economics and local currency, e.g. Ithaca Hours, are often promoted in green politics. Notably, the Ten Key Values of the Green Party include them as fundamental parts of a green program.

See also: fundamentals of economics