Advanced Search
MyIDEAS: Login

The Inhibition of Usury (Riba An-Nasi'ah) and the Economic Underdevelopment of the Muslim World

Contents:

Author Info

  • Murizah Osman Salleh

    (Bank Negera Malaysia)

  • Aziz Jaafar

    (Bangor Business School)

  • M. Shahid Ebrahim

    () (Bangor Business School)

Abstract

Premised on the finance-growth-poverty nexus, economic advancement of Muslim countries must be underpinned by a robust financial system. Nonetheless, this measure requires foremost demystifying the riba enigma. In this paper we develop a rational expectations model to study the riba injunction and justify its inhibition to the: (i) potential of expropriating wealth from either borrower or lender, which leads to the onset of non-sustainable equilibrium in the long-run; (ii) susceptibility to financial fragility; and (iii) financial exclusion of the poor. We then present our perspectives on structuring financial facilities to mitigate the above issues, its ratiocination and the deeper meaning of this centuries old injunction. Our results differ from those espoused by classical Shari?ah scholars and political Islamic groups.

Download Info

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
File URL: http://www.bangor.ac.uk/business/research/documents/BBSWP11002.pdf
Download Restriction: no

Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Bangor Business School, Prifysgol Bangor University (Cymru / Wales) in its series Working Papers with number 11002.

as in new window
Length:
Date of creation: Oct 2011
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:bng:wpaper:11002

Contact details of provider:
Postal: Gwynedd LL57 2DG
Phone: +44 (0) 1248 383648
Web page: http://www.bangor.ac.uk/business/research/
More information through EDIRC

Related research

Keywords: interest; expropriation of wealth; financial fragility; financial exclusion; hybrid equity contracts; property rights.;

Find related papers by JEL classification:

References

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
as in new window
  1. Kuran, T., 1995. "Islamic Economics and the Islamic Subeconomy," Papers 9505, Southern California - Department of Economics.
  2. Ghatak, Maitreesh & Guinnane, Timothy W., 1999. "The economics of lending with joint liability: theory and practice," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 195-228, October.
  3. Jadlow, Joseph M, 1977. "Adam Smith on Usury Laws," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(4), pages 1195-1200, September.
  4. King, Robert G. & Levine, Ross, 1993. "Finance, entrepreneurship and growth: Theory and evidence," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 513-542, December.
  5. Claessens, Stijn & Laeven, Luc, 2002. "Financial development, property rights, and growth," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2924, The World Bank.
  6. Zikmund-Fisher, Brian J. & Parker, Andrew M., 1999. "Demand for rent-to-own contracts: a behavioral economic explanation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 199-216, February.
  7. R. Mehra & E. Prescott, 2010. "The equity premium: a puzzle," Levine's Working Paper Archive 1401, David K. Levine.
  8. William R. Zame, 2005. "Incentives, Contracts And Markets: A General Equilibrium Theory Of Firms," UCLA Economics Working Papers 843, UCLA Department of Economics.
  9. Constant Mews & Ibrahim Abraham, 2007. "Usury and Just Compensation: Religious and Financial Ethics in Historical Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 72(1), pages 1-15, April.
  10. Bernanke, Ben & Gertler, Mark, 1990. "Financial Fragility and Economic Performance," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 105(1), pages 87-114, February.
  11. Hosios, Arthur J & Peters, Michael, 1989. "Repeated Insurance Contracts with Adverse Selection and Limited Commitment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 104(2), pages 229-53, May.
  12. Ragab, Ibrahim A. & Ragab, Ibrahim A., 1980. "Islam and development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 8(7-8), pages 513-521.
  13. Khan, Feisal, 2010. "How 'Islamic' is Islamic Banking?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 805-820, December.
  14. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicolás S., 1945-, 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Working papers 1523-84., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
  15. Aggarwal, Rajesh K & Yousef, Tarik, 2000. "Islamic Banks and Investment Financing," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 32(1), pages 93-120, February.
  16. Bray, Margaret M, 1981. "Futures Trading, Rational Expectations, and the Efficient Markets Hypothesis," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(3), pages 575-96, May.
  17. Shahid Ebrahim, M. & Hussain, Sikandar, 2010. "Financial development and asset valuation: The special case of real estate," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 150-162, January.
  18. Stewart C. Myers & Nicholas S. Majluf, 1984. "Corporate Financing and Investment Decisions When Firms Have InformationThat Investors Do Not Have," NBER Working Papers 1396, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  19. Christopher L. Foote & Kristopher Gerardi & Paul S. Willen, 2008. "Negative equity and foreclosure: theory and evidence," Public Policy Discussion Paper 08-3, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
  20. Barnea, Amir & Haugen, Robert A & Senbet, Lemma W, 1981. "An Equilibrium Analysis of Debt Financing under Costly Tax Arbitrage and Agency Problems," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 36(3), pages 569-81, June.
  21. Hart, Oliver & Moore, John, 1990. "Property Rights and the Nature of the Firm," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(6), pages 1119-58, December.
  22. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
  23. Stulz, Rene M. & Williamson, Rohan, 2003. "Culture, openness, and finance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(3), pages 313-349, December.
  24. Paul Gompers & Josh Lerner, 2001. "The Venture Capital Revolution," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 145-168, Spring.
  25. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicholas S., 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 187-221, June.
  26. Biais, Bruno & Bossaerts, Peter & Spatt, Chester, 2009. "Equilibrium Asset Pricing and Portofolio Choice Under Asymmetric Information," IDEI Working Papers 474, Institut d'Économie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse.
  27. Kuran, Timur, 2005. "The logic of financial westernization in the Middle East," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 56(4), pages 593-615, April.
  28. Harry Markowitz, 1952. "Portfolio Selection," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 7(1), pages 77-91, 03.
  29. Efraim Benmelech & Tobias J. Moskowitz, 2007. "The Political Economy of Financial Regulation: Evidence from U.S. State Usury Laws in the 19th Century," NBER Working Papers 12851, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  30. Burton G. Malkiel, 2003. "The Efficient Market Hypothesis and Its Critics," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 17(1), pages 59-82, Winter.
  31. Sylviane Guillaumont Jeanneney & Kangni Kpodar, 2008. "Financial Development and Poverty Reduction: Can There Be a Benefit Without a Cost?," IMF Working Papers 08/62, International Monetary Fund.
  32. Guriev, Sergei & Kvassov, Dmitry, 2000. "Barter For Price Discrimination?," CEPR Discussion Papers 2449, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  33. Thorsten Beck & Ross Levine & Norman Loayza, 1999. "Financial Intermediation and Growth: Causality and Causes," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 56, Central Bank of Chile.
  34. Bond, Philip & Musto, David K. & Yilmaz, Bilge, 2009. "Predatory mortgage lending," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(3), pages 412-427, December.
  35. Beck, Thorsten & Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Levine, Ross, 2002. "Law and finance : why does legal origin matter?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2904, The World Bank.
  36. Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1995. "A Survey of Corporate Governance," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1741, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
  37. Akerlof, George A, 1970. "The Market for 'Lemons': Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 84(3), pages 488-500, August.
  38. Franklin Allen & Anthony M. Santomero, 1996. "The Theory of Financial Intermediation," Center for Financial Institutions Working Papers 96-32, Wharton School Center for Financial Institutions, University of Pennsylvania.
  39. Simon Johnson & John McMillan & Christopher Woodruff, 2002. "Property Rights and Finance," NBER Working Papers 8852, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  40. Bhaduri, Amit, 1973. "A Study in Agricultural Backwardness under Semi-Feudalism," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 83(329), pages 120-37, March.
  41. Robert E. Litan, 1992. "Banks and real estate: regulating the unholy alliance," Conference Series ; [Proceedings], Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, pages 187-229.
  42. Harris, Milton & Raviv, Artur, 1991. " The Theory of Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(1), pages 297-355, March.
  43. Stewart C. Myers, 2001. "Capital Structure," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 81-102, Spring.
  44. Giuseppe Coco & David De Meza, 2009. "In Defense of Usury Laws," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 41(8), pages 1691-1703, December.
  45. Cooper, Russell & Hayes, Beth, 1987. "Multi-period insurance contracts," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 211-231.
  46. Matthew T. Billett & Tao-Hsien Dolly King & David C. Mauer, 2007. "Growth Opportunities and the Choice of Leverage, Debt Maturity, and Covenants," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(2), pages 697-730, 04.
  47. Lucas, Robert E, Jr, 1978. "Asset Prices in an Exchange Economy," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 46(6), pages 1429-45, November.
  48. Henderson, Brian J. & Pearson, Neil D., 2011. "The dark side of financial innovation: A case study of the pricing of a retail financial product," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(2), pages 227-247, May.
  49. Hyman P. Minsky, 1992. "The Financial Instability Hypothesis," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_74, Levy Economics Institute, The.
  50. Smith, Clifford Jr. & Warner, Jerold B., 1979. "On financial contracting : An analysis of bond covenants," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 117-161, June.
  51. Rudolph C. Blitz & Millard F. Long, 1965. "The Economics of Usury Regulation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 73, pages 608.
  52. Grosjean, Pauline, 2011. "The institutional legacy of the Ottoman Empire: Islamic rule and financial development in South Eastern Europe," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 1-16, March.
  53. Alistair Milne & Geoffrey E. Wood, 2008. "Banking crisis solutions old and new," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue Sep, pages 517-530.
  54. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1992. " Liquidation Values and Debt Capacity: A Market Equilibrium Approach," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(4), pages 1343-66, September.
  55. Timur Kuran, 1995. "Islamic Economics and the Islamic Subeconomy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 155-173, Fall.
  56. Burton G. Malkiel, 2003. "The Efficient Market Hypothesis and Its Critics," Working Papers 111, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
  57. Koyama, Mark, 2010. "Evading the 'Taint of Usury': The usury prohibition as a barrier to entry," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 420-442, October.
  58. Kuran, Timur, 2009. "Explaining the economic trajectories of civilizations: The systemic approach," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 71(3), pages 593-605, September.
  59. Myers, Stewart C., 1977. "Determinants of corporate borrowing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 147-175, November.
Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

Citations

Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
as in new window

Cited by:
  1. Murizah Osman Salleh & Aziz Jaafar & M. Shahid Ebrahim, 2012. "Can an interest-free credit facility be more efficient than a usurious payday loan?," Working Papers 12008, Bangor Business School, Prifysgol Bangor University (Cymru / Wales).

Lists

This item is not listed on Wikipedia, on a reading list or among the top items on IDEAS.

Statistics

Access and download statistics

Corrections

When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bng:wpaper:11002

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Huw Hughes).

If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.

If the full references list an item that is present in RePEc, but the system did not link to it, you can help with this form.

If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.