Local economies refer to economic activities that are consciously designed to support and promote localized economic and social systems within a specific community in a specific region.

Local economies are not specific businesses that run or owned by local communities in isolation from everything else. Such a definition may apply to a loyalty program or endeavor. Local economies are the ones deeply integrated with all critical cultural, environmental, educational, and political systems within a specific region where a large group of people live for extended time periods.

For instance, a local business that operates in a specific area that employs local people, but all of its goods are sold thousands of miles away, and the profits are recycled only to increase production so that more goods are produced and shipped away is not a good local economic model. On the other hand, a local business that is engaged in the production of goods and services that are critical to the community, that employs local residents, and recycle to profit to improve the business or to invest it in other local businesses that produce other critical goods and services for the community or to support producers of materials needed for the business is a better model. In other words, the more connections a business has to other economic, social, and environmental business and activities the better it is a local economy model.

Integrated local economies within the community and the region benefits the community and the environment, and healthy local economies can then be integrated, collaborative, with other local economies creating a more stable network of economies that allow for equitable development and more resilient global economy. In other words, we promote collaborative globalization without dominance-driven globalism.

Building and promoting local economies can help remedy historic inequities caused by colonialism, wars, and corporate greed.