Journal of Iran's Economic Essays; an Islamic approach
Year:2010 | Volume:6 | Issue:12|Papers Count:7

According to Iran privatization policy, Edalat stocks plan would be implemented to distribute wealth within the various groups of people especially the low-income stratum. This plan has several strengths and weaknesses. Since most beneficiaries of this plan have no sufficient information about financial instruments and markets, they don’t have any precise image of stock risks, so they normally wait to receive the fixed annual interest.The article while endorsing the lofty goal of the Edalat stocks planners will criticize the operational process of this kind of privatization and finally offer 2 alternative models for Edalat stocks.The present article is a practical research and is based on survey methodology and library based sources.

Justice has been one of the loftiest aspirations of humanity and it is one of the key words and central concepts studied in social and economic sciences. Although much discussion has been going on about it from the time immemorial, its expanse and depth are continuously increasing with the result that no consensus or agreement exists about its operational and conceptual aspects. There is no clear perspective as to the concept of justice due to multiplicity of views and opinions concerning it.One of the debatable discussions about justice is whether justice has something to do with processes. Does it relate to the rules and regulations between economic agents, income and ownership of the outcome of the efforts by the individuals? Or does it have to do with the final result, i.e. the situation brought about as a result of the implementation of the processes.Both views have proponents among Western intellectuals and economists. However, when it comes to the foundations of 'right' and 'justice', it seems that Islam's perspective surpasses the foregoing two answers.This article seeks to study and determine such aspects from the concept of justice and it has first embarked on providing the definitions of justice and then presenting an account of the chronological development of the aforementioned views. Thereupon, with the concept of 'right' in view, it has followed the discussion on the impact of genuine concept of 'right' on justice and social justice in the above-mentioned stages.

The institution of Waqf (endowment) has played a significant role throughout Islamic history, ever since the time of the holy Prophet (pbuh). Although this institution existed before the coming of Islam, Islam was the first religion to develop its legal framework and to regulate it. Thus, it became one of the devices created by the Muslims to render many crucial services in various sectors that are today financed by the state or the government, such as education, health care, national security, commercial business, transportation facilities shelter and food for the poor and needy, creating jobs, besides supporting the agricultural and industrial sectors without inflicting any cost on the government. This article underscores the importance of the establishment of this institution as a non-profit and a redistribution organization so as to drawn attention to the fact that it can provide financial support to the needy sectors of the Islamic world.This can be done by focusing on two sections: First, we will study the legal framework for the stock and cash Waqf; thereupon, by highlighting the role of the non-profit institution in the developed countries we will present a dynamic model of an effective financialwaqf institution that performs simultaneously two roles of maximizing stakeholders’ wealth and optimizing resources allocation, albeit in complete compliance with Shari' ah rules and the goals set by the endowers.

An overview of the economy-related verses and narrations reveals the fact that reducing poverty and improving income distribution are among the most important economic goals of Islam and subsequently Islamic economics. On the other hand, Islam has underscored the importance of the components of human capital like education and health. However, a quick glance at the current situation of the Muslim countries shows something different. In fact, there is a big gap between Islamic teachings about income inequality and poverty, and the present condition of Islamic countries. Having gone briefly over the Islamic literature on poverty, inequality and human capital, the present study examines the impact of the various components of human capital on the income inequality and poverty rate in Islamic countries.Statistical results, using least-squares estimation technique in a multivariate linear regression, indicate that enhancing the components of human capital in the Muslim world, will reduce poverty and change income distribution toward equality.

Takaful is an Islamic insurance concept which is grounded in Islamic transactions, observing the rules and regulations of Islamic law. Like the traditional Insurance companies, Takaful companies and institutions are designed to cover future possible damages and threats.In Addition, takaful plan contributors are participated in their benefit from profitable investments and activities. Mudharabah-based family takaful and mudharabah-based publictakaful are models of takaful that have been explained in this paper.Although these models have been designed on the basis of certain contracts such as mudharabah, hiba (gifting) qardh (benevolent loan) and wikalah (agency), given the specific objectives that these companies follow, takaful models are mixed contracts that don' t conform to anyone of these contracts specifically.Jurisprudential analysis of these two models presented in this study benefiting from content analysis research method has confirmed their accuracy. It seems that in addition to materializing insurance companies' goals, and in view oftakaful contributors taking benefit from the surplus profit obtained, takaful models are more compatible with Islamic principles and justice.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the evolution of Douglass Cecil North's research program. Our study indicates his plan has been directed by this question: What are the effective factors on the success or the failure of the economies and why the performances of economies are so different? Realizing the strong effect of institutions on economic performance, in 1970s North conducts several studies about institutions, economic growth and change. However, because of his reliance on the tool box of neoclassic economics, he could not explain the inefficiency of institutions which govern the economies worldwide. Therefore he abandons the idea of efficient institutions, substitutes the assumption of bounded rationality for instrumental rationality, follows the concept of path dependence, and presents a model to explain inefficient institutions and weak economic performance. In subsequent decades North tends in a gradual manner to cognitive science, goes beyond the assumption of bounded rationality, and instead of emphasizing on the computational aspect of cognition emphasizes on the connectionist aspect of cognition. North believes it is the ideologies of the individuals that, during years and in a cumulative way, determine the individual choice and the path of the evolution of economic systems. Therefore, without understanding the process of cognition, it is not possible to obtain a correct understanding of economic changes.

The interactive relations between economics and other sciences have usually ended up in the creation of new branches of this science. For instance, the interactions between economics and mathematics and statistics in the early 20th century resulted in the creation of mathematical economics and econometrics. Now, as a result of the interaction between economics and neuroscience (branch of psychology), the ground for the coming into being of yet another branch of economics has been paved. This is neuroeconomics. This paper seeks to develop the internal literature within economic sciences through introducing this new economic branch so that it may help better explain future economic difficulties and consequently make more appropriate policy prescriptions available for the human society.On the other hand, neuroeconomics can also have influence on the kind of understanding about religion and economics. This science claims to be endeavoring for basic changes in classical economics-related perception about choice and rationality, so it can be considered as something endorsing which religion has propounded. Neuroeconomics' emphasis on the status of beliefs in micro foundation of an individual's decision-making can be a good confirmation.