Book

This is an extremely valuable book written by three highly qualified scholars whose credentials for writing such a book are difficult to match. The timing of the book is also perfect, having come at a time when the worst financial crisis in living memory has intensified the quest for reform of the international architecture. The proposals made by the authors should go a long way in not only reforming the system but also in accelerating the move towards financial globalization and convergence of the conventional and Islamic financial systems.

This book is a comprehensive resource and groundbreaking work that provides an overview of the organizing principles and fundamentals values of an Islamic economy. It also offer a clear explanation of how the conventional global economic system differs from an economy grounded in the fundamental principles of Islam.

This book briefly surveys the evolution of the Western concept of development, recognizing the wider dimensions of human and economic development and the role of institutions and rules, which has moved toward the vision and the path of development envisaged in Islam.

This book provides a review of the main issues and challenges facing Islamic finance. The application of Islamic finance is currently limited to banking. This book starts with an overview of the factors and motives behind the development of Islamic finance. A critical review of issues facing the industry is provided followed by a detailed analysis of areas where further attention is required. The book offers some original thinking on issues pertaining to governance, institutions, public finance and economic development within an Islamic financial system.

In this volume, the authors make an important attempt to develop the building blocks of an Islamic financial system and elaborate on its implementation as a comprehensive system. They make a convincing case for the world to shed its reliance on debt, interest and leveraging, and revamp the global financial system to rely more heavily on equity financing, genuine asset securitization linking the payoffs of financial securities to the underlying assets. This would ensure promoting wider risk sharing and a more stable financial environment.

The financialization of the economy has brought a number of interrelated problems which have contributed to growing income and wealth inequality. Askari and Mirakhor assert that it is time to make a bold change by putting our financial house in order and on a better path, advocating for a fundamental reform of the financial system.

The main focus is on the question of the sources of financial instability which seems inherent in the conventional system. As a core component of this focus, the book will consider episodes of turbulence and instability in a historical context recalling the occurrence of such events from mid-19th century to the present. It will present various theoretical explanations along with solutions and alternative financial systems that avoid instability provided by various scholars dating back to mid-19th century to present...