9 key conclusions are drawn: 1) First of all, Islam is hardly to blame for global development problems, let alone, Muslim migration is to blame for the failure of the European Lisbon process 2) it emerges that the European Union, the way it is constructed, is not the answer, but part of the very problem of stagnation and deficient development 3) in particular, the Lisbon target “low comparative price levels” contradicts the other Lisbon targets 4) Europe is characterized by an aging society and the pension crisis. But World Bank pension models will not propel economic growth and sustainable development 5) Opening up to global markets and unfettered globalization will not provide sustainable development to the European political economy 6) Many of the ills of the Muslim world are in reality caused by the crisis of modernization (“things get worse, before the get better”) 7) The “Limits to Growth” in the richest countries create serious social and ecological tensions 8) Urbanization negatively affects development in many ways 9) The positive effects of globalization are very limited While the analysis on world development 1990 – 2003, which contradicts in many ways Huntingtons famous book (1996), shows the detrimental effects of dependency, low comparative price levels and membership in the EU-15 on the social and ecological balances of countries of the world, we also tested the effects of our new data on Muslims per cent of total population on a comprehensive number of dependent variables of socio-economic development in 134 countries of the world, namely 1. economic growth, 1990-2003 (UNDP HDR, 2005) 2. freedom from political rights violations, 1998, and 2006 (Easterly, 2000-2002, and Freedom House, 2007) 3. Happy Planet Index (Happy Planet Organization) 4. Human development Index, 2005 (UNDP HDR 2005) 5. Gender development index 2004 (UNDP HDR, 2006) 6. Gender empowerment index, 2004 (UNDP HDR, 2006) 7. life expectancy, 1995-2000 (UNDP HDR 2000) 8. Life Satisfaction (Happy Planet Organization) 9. freedom from unemployment (UN statistical system website, social indicators) 10. eco-social market economy (GDP output per kg energy use) (UNDP HDR 2000) 11. the Yale/Columbia environmental sustainability index (ESI-Index), 2005 12. female economic activity rate as % of male economic activity rate (UNDP HDR 2000) 13. freedom from % people not expected to survive age 60 (UNDP HDR 2000) 14. freedom from a high ecological Footprint (Happy Planet Organization) 15. freedom from a high quintile ratio (share of income/consumption richest 20% to poorest 20%) (UNDP HDR 2005) 16. freedom from civil liberty violations, 1998, and 2006 (Easterly, 2002, and Freedom House, 2007) 17. freedom from high CO2 emissions per capita (UNDP HDR 2000) Ceteris paribus, Muslim culture even significantly and positively affects the human rights record, human development, gender development, and the ecological balances, and in general terms alleviates the problem of “structural violence”, measured in terms proposed by Galtung (1971). But there is a significant negative relationship between the percentages of Muslims per total population and the indicator: life satisfaction. Also it emerges that Muslim nations and countries with large Muslim population shares suffer dispropotrionately from heavy unemployment; which is closely connected to the problem of unequal exchange (low comparative international price levels). As to the causal directions of these relationships, the article argues in favor of cautious interpretations, and no final verdict is reached. In many ways, Muslim communities are to be regarded as socially stabilizing and growth enhancing factors. But the negative relationship between life satisfaction and Muslim population shares invites for a more thorough debate on happiness, based on classic Muslim philosophy or hanafist Euro-Islam, and against tendencies of a salafist reading of the scriptures. Our work also argues in favor of taking the problem of unequal exchange (low comparative price levels) more seriously as in the past. It is an underlying causal mechanism, creating unemployment in the Muslim world. At any rate, a liberal, tolerant and spiritual reading of the Holy Scriptures is recommended – much in the spirit of major religious Muslim figures as Professor Smail Balic from Bosnia and Professor Ali Bardakoglu from Turkey.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
file. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Publisher Info
Paper provided by University Library of Munich, Germany in its series MPRA Paper with number
4698.
Find related papers by JEL classification: F5 - International Economics - - International Relations and International Political Economy Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration F50 - International Economics - - International Relations and International Political Economy - - - General
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
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.: