In Islamic jurisprudence, a comprehensive ethic has been formulated governing how business and commerce should be run, how accountability to God and the community is to be achieved, and how banking and finance is to be arranged. This Handbook examines how well these values are translated into actual performance. It explores whether those holding true to the system are hindered and put at a disadvantage or whether the Islamic institutions have been able to demonstrate that faith-based activities can be rewarding, both economically and spiritually
"The standardization of Islamic financial products is currently evolving, both for Islamic derivatives & hedging methods and for Islamic bonds (Sukuk) and the process of standardization is expected to start soon also for other Islamic instruments. Islamic capital markets, and Islamic finance in general, is experiencing global rapid growth and is currently receiving more consideration also by non-Islamic investors. Islamic Finance is based on the prohibition of interest ("Riba"), excessive uncertaintly ("Gharar") and gambling ("Maysir" or "Qimar"). From these foundations, conventional financial products, such as interest-bearing instruments, options, forwards, futures, and insurances, as well as conventional practices like short-selling and leveraging, are not compliant with Islamic law ("Shariah"). Nevertheless, the Islamic finance industry has undertaken considerable efforts to create products and solutions of the same value, in many instances by replicating conventional structures in a Shariah-compliant manner. This has led to discussions between scholars and practitioners, as some scholars regard specific replication techniques merely as ploys and ruses. While no definite answer can be given yet concerning the question of Shariah-compliance for every single instrument, some trends are emerging in this dynamic market. Islamic derivative products are essential for asset management and risk management in any Islamic context, and provide answers to many of the investors' needs. This book covers all Islamic derivatives and structured products including state of the art Islamic short-selling methods used by hedge funds and gives a comprehensive overview of current Islamic capital markets. It takes a practical approach addressing practical issues in risk management and investing for both Islamic and non-Islamic readers. .Contents A. Introduction B. Islamic capital market instruments 1. Hedging and Islamic derivatives (explaining many de facto practices used by Islamic financial institutions, and potential future applications not yet broadly applied; standardization and financial engineering) 2. Sukuk (Islamic bonds, current trends and issues in the market, standardization etc.) 3. Islamic funds (incl. specific hedge-fund practices, Islamic REITs, Islamic Private Equity funds, brief overview on market indices) 4. Islamic structured products (all currently existing types of Shariah-compliant structuring principles, example products, etc.) C. Islamic risk management 1. Risk management issues in Islamic contracts (overview, main types of risk, differences to risk management in conventional finance, etc.) 2. Basel II for Islamic financial instruments (brief overview on IFSB rules, etc.) 3. Risk management of basic financing modes (analysing all basic Islamic financing modes, e.g. Murabaha, PLS modes, with regards to their intrinsic risk and their management, as well as their Basel II risk weights etc.) 4. Risk management of Islamic funds (market risk, credit risk, ...) 5. Risk management of Sukuk (market risk, credit risk, operational risks, ...) 6. Risk management of Islamic structured products D. Outlook E. Annex 1. Bibliography 2. Index"--
Bank exposure to off‐balance sheet activities in general and Standby Letters of Credit (SLCs) in particular has become a major concern to regulators. The risk‐exposure of SLCs has been re‐examined by employing option pricing methodologies to calculate implied asset risk from bank equity and flat deposit insurance, and from risk‐premia on bank subordinated debt. The results indicate that SLC reduce systematic risk, equity risk, and implied asset risk. It appears that Standby Letters of Credit contribute to the overall diversification of bank's assets.
'This volume presents carefully selected research by reputed scholars on diverse topics dealing with the economic life of Muslims. The book provides a perspective not only on key aspects of the moral economy but also on the behaviour and expectations of economic agents. The distinguished editors have made a valuable contribution by expanding the scope of typical Islamic economics literature and by including topics dealing with the day-to-day life of Muslim society.' (Zamir Iqbal, The World Bank Global Center for Islamic Finance Development). -- According to the most recent Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, nearly one in four people in the world are Muslim. In light of these numbers, Handbook on Islam and Economic Life is one of the first books to consider Islam within a broader economic sphere by focusing on the ways in which Islam shapes and interacts with the economy. With contributions from leading scholars, this unique Handbook explores how Islam impinges upon and seeks to condition major aspects of economic life including economic organisation, business and management, finance and investment, charity, mutuality and self-help, and government. It concludes by analysing the link between religion and development, the present economic circumstances in Arab countries and the vexed issue of the origins and causes of underdevelopment in Muslim countries. Covering a breadth of topics and research, this book will be essential reading for academics in both Muslim and western universities, graduates and postgraduates of Islamic studies as well as Islamic and other research institutes.
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Purpose: This paper aims to examine the effects of interest-free and interest-based monetary policy on inflation and unemployment rates for two groups of countries where in one group, interest-free monetary policy (IFMP) was pursued, while in the other group, interest-based monetary policy (IBMP) was followed. Design/methodology/approach - This study involves a sample of 23 developed countries divided into two groups. The authors measure economic performance by misery index (MI), and MI is calculated as unemployment rate plus inflation rate. A group of countries, where MI is lower, performs better compared to the other group where MI is relatively higher. Findings - The results reveal that in group of 12 countries where IFMP is adopted, the MI is lower and thus performs better compared to a group of countries where IBMP is pursued. Research limitations/implications - The findings of this study have profound implications for the policymakers and government leaders who look for a solution to maintain both low inflation and unemployment rates. The findings in this study clearly portray that such ideal situations can only be achieved by pursuing IFMP. No wonder the countries which have been historically pursuing IFMP such as Japan, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark have been able to contain both inflation and unemployment rates compared to their counterparts among the English-speaking countries. Originality/value - This is one of the most recent tests on the differences in economic performance between IFMP and IBMP. These results have significant value for policymakers and central bankers who have been struggling to maintain lower MI for decades.
