Published August 15, 2012
BY DAN COOK
You’re a well intentioned, discerning person, so you probably know about the BuySC campaign that encourages consumers to spend their money at locally owned businesses. Well, there’s a growing body of academic research showing that shopping locally is beneficial for communities, and a recent article at livingeconomies.org surveys the landscape. A study in the Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, for example, found that “counties with a vibrant small-business sector have lower rates of mortality and a lower prevalence of obesity and diabetes.” Another study, by Troy Blanchard and Todd Matthews, finds residents of communities where big business dominates “tend to vote less and are less likely to keep up with local affairs, participate in associations, engage in reform efforts or participate in protest activities at the same levels as their counterparts in economically dispersed environments.”