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...

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...

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...

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...

"This book analyzes the social, cultural, religious, and political implications of the Islamic economy at the global level by highlighting the foundations upon which Islamic ideology is formed and how it impacts socio-cultural and economic systems both within and outside of primarily Islamic...

"Methods and techniques adopted in teaching, training, learning, research, professional development or capacity building are generally standardized, across most traditional disciplines, particularly within developing countries. This is not the case, however, when it comes to the Islamic...