A Political Economy of Lebanon, 1948-2002 : The Limits of Laissez-faire /
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This book is about the laissez-faire strategy for economic development, a strategy inspired by neoclassical/mainstream economics, advocated by the "Washington Consensus", and implemented by the Bretton Woods institutions. Mainstream economics has taken legitimacy from the historical failure of command economies. But this view has not been balanced by an examination of the performance of laissez-faire economies, the closest to the pure market model. Lebanon provides a unique test case in this regard. The book assesses Lebanon's development during 1948-2002, including its industrial and financial performance. The dynamics of the laissez-faire system is separately studied from a Post-Keynesian perspective, highlighting institutional behavior. It is found that laissez-faire is not a sufficient condition for economic development, and can even be counterproductive.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047402572
9789004132597
Arab Islamic Banking and the Renewal of Islamic Law /
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Over the last several decades the Islamic religious movement has steadily gained importance in the Muslim world, manifesting the desire to modify existing institutions so that they conform to the values of traditional Islamic culture. This new book examines the application of such values to modern finance: Islamic banking. It also attempts to address the surprising lack of familiarity with Islamic banking among Western bankers and lawyers. The Author provides a thorough overview of Islamic banking, its devlopmenty, participants, structure, and aims, goes on to study the Islamic legal contracts undelying it, and finally, by way of a cae study of the Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt, assesses the financial viability of Islamic banks. He asserts that Arab Islamic banking is a financial system fundamentally different from the system currently dominant throughout the world, and further, is a viable financial phenomenon. The establishment of Islamic banking, which can be seen as a bold new development model for the Muslim world, has necessitated immense intellectual and financial commitments, as well as an empirical approach emphasizing teh adaptation of both modern finance and medieval Islamic law. The text is supplemeted by translations of selected fatwas, and also includes financial information on a large number of Islamic banks.
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1 online resource (192 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004634893