The "multiplier effect" of local currencies refers most specifically to the fact that a given amount of local currency changes hands numerous times in the course of a year. So you can convert the known quantity of the stock of currency in circulation at a point in time into a number that measures the value of the total transactions the currency has played a role in. In Ithaca, for example, we have about 6,700 HOURS in circulation at the moment. (Published Dec. 1998)