Do religious beliefs affect real economic decisions? We investigate this fundamental question by comparing default rates on conventional and Islamic loans using a comprehensive monthly dataset from Pakistan that follows more than 150,000 loans over the period 2006:04 to 2008:12. We find robust...

How different are Islamic banks from conventional banks? Does the recent crisis justify a closer look at the Sharia-compliant business model for banking? When comparing conventional and Islamic banks, controlling for time-variant country-fixed effects, we find few significant differences in...

The objective of this paper is to ascertain whether Islamic banks do in fact manage profit distributions and if so, what factors are associated with the extent of profit distribution management. The results suggest that most Islamic banks manage profit distributions, with the extent of profit...

We compare default rates on conventional and Islamic loans using a comprehensive monthly dataset from Pakistan that follows more than 150,000 loans over the period 2006:04 to 2008:12. We find robust evidence that the default rate of Islamic loans is less than half the default rate of...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to critique the philosophical underpinnings of the growing field of Islamic economics. Design/methodology/approach – A critical and comparative review of Islamic economics texts written by key proponents during the last eight decades is undertaken. The...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the main determinants of the probability of a household being poor, middle class, or rich. Design/methodology/approach – A new and integrated approach to the measurement of inequality in income distribution, poverty, and richness was...

Capital structure theories in finance aim towards an ideal debt-equity ratio in the traditional interest-based financial system. The capital structure theories as per the Shariah law also aim towards an ideal debt-equity ratio but the debt contract used here is different with different...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to critique the philosophical underpinnings of the growing field of Islamic economics. Design/methodology/approach – A critical and comparative review of Islamic economics texts written by key proponents during the last eight decades is undertaken. The...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the main determinants of the probability of a household being poor, middle class, or rich. Design/methodology/approach – A new and integrated approach to the measurement of inequality in income distribution, poverty, and richness was...

The term 'Islamic economics', as a new paradigm for analysing economic behaviour gained popular attention in 1950s, although solitary writings on the subject existed earlier. Unfortunately, the new paradigm remained confined within a limited circle of Muslim writers. Its reach in international...