Like Western financial markets, Islamic modes of finance offer services characterized by profit-and-loss sharing while also providing certain debt-based instruments. Unlike traditional capitalist modes of finance, however, Islamic finance places a unique emphasis upon the former, thus prompting...

Our study aims at analyzing Islamic bank efficiency over the period 2001-2008. We found that they were efficient at 92%. The level of efficiency could however vary according to the region where they operate. Asia displays the highest score with 96%. Indeed, country like Malaysia made reforms in...

The last decade witnessed a wide expansion of Islamic finance in Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian countries. Sukuk issues, which are Islamic financial instruments structured to replicate the cash flows of conventional bonds, have notably proliferated, fuelling the debate on the similarity...

Do shariah-compliant firms pay higher dividends than other firms? Using data from the MENA (Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain) region, this paper shows that shariah-compliant firms not only have higher payout ratios but also have higher likelihood to pay dividends...

This paper aims to study the performance of Islamic finance regarding that of conventional finance over the last decade. This question is particularly interesting as within the current financial crisis, conventional finance is being rather ineffectual and risky and that in the same time one can...

The financial crisis has fueled interest in alternatives to traditional asset classes that might be less affected by large market gyrations and, thus, provide for a less volatile development of a portfolio. One attempt at selecting stocks that are less prone to extreme risks, is obeyance of...

The brief editorial note intriduces the new issue of the journal. Starting from the current issue (March 2014), the Review has a new international editorial board. The supervisory board and Economia civile (owner of the journal) wish to thank the friends and colleagues who graciously accepted to...

Conventional finance has long been plagued by crises that cause economic dislocations and impede sustained economic growth, with banks and non-bank financial institutions requiring periodic bailouts. Numerous developing countries have been unable to mobilise domestic and foreign financial...

An efficient market has been theoretically proven to be a key component for effective and efficient resource allocation in an economy. This paper incorporates econophysics with Efficient Market Hypothesis to undertake a comparative analysis of Islamic and developed countries’ markets by...

Muslim entrepreneurs are compelled by religious laws to abstain from engaging in certain economic and financing activities, such as those involving gambling, usury, and speculation. Western entrepreneurs may choose to forgo certain business opportunities due to religious or moral laws as well;...