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Economic freedom in Muslim countries: an explanation using the theory of institutional path dependency

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  • François Facchini

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

This article explains the level of economic freedom in Muslim countries through the theory of institutional path dependency. Islamic countries are generally not free and they have a poor record regarding property rights. To explain these realities we use the institutional history of Muslim countries. We define three steps: the Arab and Ottoman Empires when Islamic law was of great importance, European colonisation, and the contemporary era with its movement towards a revival of Islam. Islamic law is not liberal. This explain why in general Muslim countries are not free. Colonisation radically changed institutional life in the twentieth century. British colonisation proved to be better than did French or Soviet colonisation. This explains why the Persian Gulf countries are freer. The collapse of the Soviet model explains the speed of liberalisation in former socialist countries (such as Albania, Kyrgyz Republic, and Kazakhstan). Nevertheless, the twentieth century was not just the century of Westernisation. It was also the century of the revival of Islam. The article concludes that the history of the twentieth century does not explain the way in which Muslim countries are attracted by the ideal of the Muslim city. The revival of Islamic intellectual innovations and the evolution of Muslim opinion sustain this thesis. Therefore, there is a dependency on the past and on an imagined future. Islam acts, like yesterday, on the world of institutional possibilities.

Suggested Citation

  • François Facchini, 2013. "Economic freedom in Muslim countries: an explanation using the theory of institutional path dependency," Post-Print hal-00636998, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00636998
    DOI: 10.1007/s10657-011-9250-y
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-00636998
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    2. François Facchini & Louis Jaeck & Chafik Bouhaddioui, 2021. "Culture and Entrepreneurship in the United Arab Emirates," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 12(3), pages 1245-1269, September.
    3. Jared L. Peifer & David R. Johnson & Elaine Howard Ecklund, 2019. "The Moral Limits of the Market: Science Commercialization and Religious Traditions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(1), pages 183-197, June.
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    5. Evgeni Peev, 2015. "Institutions, economic liberalization and firm growth: evidence from European transition economies," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 149-174, August.
    6. Moamen Gouda & Jerg Gutmann, 2021. "Islamic constitutions and religious minorities," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 186(3), pages 243-265, March.

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    Keywords

    Economic freedom; Colonisation; Property rights; Islam; Imaginary;
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