Islamic Finance Risk Sharing And Macroeconomic Stability

The concept of risk-sharing in financial and social contracts is one of the unique features of Islamic finance. Many theoretical studies generally claim superiority of an Islamic financial system based on pure equity and participatory modes of financing, while empirical studies provide mixed results. Studies and discussions are needed to fully understand how Islamic finance could contribute to the ongoing discussion of financial stability. Against this background, this book addresses various aspects of Islamic finance and the risk-sharing mechanism contributions to the overall macroeconomic and financial stability. Undoubtedly, the findings and recommendation from this book should be of great interest not only to future academic researchers in the field of macroeconomic stability and Islamic finance, but also to policy makers and regulators who are keen on drawing lessons from Islamic finance experiences to prevent similar crisis in the future.

Islamic finance has started to grow in international finance across the globe, with some concentration in few countries. Nearly 20 percent annual growth of Islamic finance in recent years seems to point to its resilience and broad appeal, partly owing to principles that govern Islamic financial activities, including equity, participation, and ownership. In theory, Islamic finance is resilient to shocks because of its emphasis on risk sharing, limits on excessive risk taking, and strong link to real activities. Empirical evidence on the stability of Islamic banks, however, is so far mixed. While these banks face similar risks as conventional banks do, they are also exposed to idiosyncratic risks, necessitating a tailoring of current risk management practices. The macroeconomic policy implications of the rapid expansion of Islamic finance are far reaching and need careful considerations.

Given the propensity of the world financial system to crisis, this book explores the radical alternative put forward by Islamic (and Western) theories of non-interest banking. The Islamic critique of interest and early experiments with non-interest banking are assessed against the conventional theories regarding banking, company finance and macroeconomic stability. Whilst the experience of Islamic banking has proved inconclusive thus far, the theoretical model provides a cogent alternative to a financial system made fragile by debt contracts.

This volume aims to discuss the current research, theory, methodology and applications of macropreudential regulation and policy for the Islamic financial industry. Published in cooperation with the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), this book features contributions from a workshop presented in collaboration with the University College of Bahrain (UCB) in Manama, Bahrain, aimed to bring together experts in Islamic banking and regulation and financial economics. This resulting book sheds light on how macroprudential policy may be implemented in the Islamic financial system, and indicates current challenges and their effects on economic growth, financial stability and monetary regulation. Macroprudential policy is increasingly seen as a way of dealing with the different dimensions of systemic risk. But many central banks, bank supervisors and regulators have limited experience with macroprudential tools, particularly in the Islamic financial industry. Given the complementarities between monetary policy and financial stability, it appears that central banks would always play an important role in macroprudential policy. But how should macroprudential policy best interact with monetary policy? It is becoming more pressing for the central banks to conduct monetary policy in which its conventional banking system operates side by side with Islamic banking system. This question has received increasing attention in the research literature but there is much we still need to learn. This is why new insights from research on macroprudential policy – which has gained important impetus in recent years – are so valuable. Featuring contributions on topics such as macroprudential regulation, policy, tools and instruments; governance, systematic risk, monetary policy, and bank leverage, the editors provide a collection of comprehensive research covering the most important issues on macroprudential policy and regulation for the Islamic financial industry. This volume is expected to be a significant contribution to the literature in the field of Islamic finance and evaluation of public policies to promote the development for Islamic financial industry. It is also served as a key text for students, academics, researchers, policy-makers in the field of Islamic finance.

The Stability of Islamic Finance 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. The book then will present and discuss the architecture of an Islamic financial system and show that at its core, this system shares many characteristics of an stable financial system proposed by Western scholars throughout history to avoid the inherent instability of the present dominant system. Particular emphasis will be placed on the present financial crisis and its causes as well the financial crisis of the 1997 in Southeast Asia, Russia, and Latin America relating these episodes to the fundamental features of the dominant system. The debt crisis of the low income countries will also be part of this discussion. It will then argue that these crises could be mitigated under an Islamic system or any other system with similar architecture.

How the Islamic finance approach to risk can serve as a model for global reform The recent U.S. financial debacle has affected the entire world and led to major reviews of risk management in financial institutions. Perhaps a simpler alternative is just to adopt the systems used for centuries in Islamic finance. Risk Sharing in Finance expounds upon this novel idea, suggesting that the Islamic financial system can be developed for use around the world by providing a helpful paradigm for crafting global financial reforms. Demonstrating how Islamic finance can successfully expand its array of risk sharing instruments, for example issuing government shares to finance development projects and placing limits on short sales and leveraging, the book makes a compelling case for thinking outside the box to redevelop a vibrant stock market. Provides analysis of the comparative historical, theoretical, and empirical investigation of risk management in both the conventional and the Islamic-type financial systems Explores the benefits and the implications of introducing Islamic finance around the world and explains how wider reliance on risk sharing can be implemented Establishes a connection between the flawed contemporary Western system of capitalist finance and the ancient, traditional forms of risk-sharing prevalent in Islamic finance Offering a timely look at financial reform, Risk Sharing in Finance draws on the expertise of author Zamir Iqbal of the World Bank, along with a host of co-authors Abbas Mirakhor, Hossein Askari, and Noureddine Krichene to present a new form of financial reform.

This book offers an alternative framework for macroeconomic policy in Malaysia, derived from the universal principles of social justice espoused in the objectives of the Shariah. It attempts to holistically analyze issues related to public finance, which has been criticized for lack of transparency and justice in wealth distribution. This book explores these criticisms and discusses the principles of Islamic finance that may be applied to macroeconomic policymaking to create a better economy overall. It presents a case for a flat tax system, to make the economy more resilient to shocks, and financing methods that limit interest-rate-based debt contracts and allow greater risk sharing among the market participants on a broad scale. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, this book models the Malaysian economy based on policies that apply the fundamental Islamic finance principle of risk sharing to demonstrate its benefits in spurring growth, promoting distributive justice, rendering the economy more stable, strengthening the potency of monetary policy, enhancing fiscal governance, and improving financial inclusion. The book will be of interest to students, policymakers, financial institutions, researchers, ministries of finance, central banks, securities commissions, and anyone interested in alternative economic paradigms.

This book addresses the financing of government budgets with non-debt-creating flows through risk-sharing capital market instruments. It offers a comparative analysis with conventional finance to demonstrate the ability of Islamic capital market instruments to create an impetus for economic stability and growth. Rizvi, Bacha, and Mirakhor guide readers chronologically through the unfolding effects of macroeconomic policy implemented to reduce crippling sovereign debt, increase government financing, and guide governments to the path of economic progress.