JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT (THE ECONOMIC RESEARCH)
Year:2003 | Volume:3 | Issue:9-10|Papers Count:10

In economics, rationality is an axiom for economic agents’ behavior that is taken from principles of Post-Renaissance anthropology. Instrumental rationality has solved the economic agents’ decision making problem, in theoretical approach. Some economists and Muslim economists have criticized the classic concept of rationality. Moreover, most of the other supplied frameworks for rationality are not complete. Then it is necessary to discussed more about this basic axiom, from Islamic economic viewpoint. So to do this, we have to provide a proper concept of rationality. Thus, first we review the base and concept of rationality in economics, then we review the viewpoint of Moslem economists, and finally we try to present the proper concept of rationality, regarding Islamic viewpoint.

The share of housing sector in employment, total value added and households’ budget on the one hand and existing disequilibrium on housing market on the other hand, make policymakers to pay attention to this sector. Understanding the factors that affect the demand for housing can help to eliminate disequilibrium in housing market. Housing demand can be estimated with and without considering the kind of tenure. Using OLS method with cross sectional data, this study estimates the housing demand for owner-occupied and tenent-occupied of 12338 selected urban households. In this paper, housing services is dependent variable and rent of housing, income and certain socio-economic factors are our independent variables. The results show those households’ income (current, permanent and transitory), marriage status, age and literacy of the householder and numbers of literated persons in household have positive effect on the housing demand, and rent of housing, the number of income earning persons in household and household size have a negative effect on the demand for housing. The income elasticity of demand for housing is less than one. This result implies that housing is a necessary good.

Utilizing the Data Envelopment Analysis method, this paper evaluates the efficiency of production in 172 branches of agricultural bank with assumptions of constant and variable returns to scale in region 4. The investigated branches with respect to special characteristics as well as domain of operation, range of activity and the measurement of branches in the homogeneous groups are classified and the amount of technical and scale efficiency calculated and finally for inefficient units also is introduced the branches as the references patterns. The results indicate that the mean technical efficiency of agricultural bank branch in region 4 is equal to 81% and 94% under the constant and variable returns to scale condition and also the mean of efficiency to scale is 86%. In the position of variable returns to scale the largest average mean of efficiency among the rural branches was 98% and at the condition of constant returns to scale there is 84% among the main branches. In spite of higher average mean of efficiency in the case of variable returns to scale (the short time aim) among rural branches, these units mainly acquired the least average mean efficiency scale .In the condition of variable returns to scale among rural branches, the units with small size and among the main branches, the units with average size and among the urban branches, also the units within average size have the most mean efficiency. In all groups, most of units have the increasing returns to scale.

Hospitals and their performance play a very important role in the health sector in any country. Their behavior is quite similar to other firms in the economy and they tend to act as cost minimizing firms, taking into account the health and social burden associated with their efficient performance. The main purpose of this paper is to estimate the cost function and its determinants in selected Tehran hospitals. A total of fourteen hospitals are selected and data for relevant variables are gathered for a ten year period starting from 1992. The models and theoretic functions and empirical results in other countries are discussed thoroughly and the selected model was estimated using a panel data format. The results are compatible with theoretic basis and show that the relative cost of hospitals over the period under study has a positive relationship with relative labor and capital prices. Different formats for cost estimation are also employed and the results are reported accordingly.

The ability of Islamic Banking in financing monetary or banking sections of economy has long been discussed by economic societies. Some people believe that, Islamic Banking can not satisfy the requirements of monetary sections of economy, while others are talking on success of Islamic Banking. It is important to note that, the comparison of these methods of banking system should be done at the same conditions. To do this comparison, we must find Efficient Islamic Banks, and then compare them with conventional banks. Because the experience of conventional banking system is more than Islamic one. Therefore the introduction of Efficient Islamic Banks, which are patterns for other Islamic Banks, is necessary. To this reason, this research introduces Efficient Islamic Banks throughout the world in years 2000 - 2001. Section one discusses the overall research in this thesis. Section two compares the principles, instruments, targets, and the policy of Islamic and Non Islamic Banking. Section 3 introduces Data Envelopment Analysis method that is an instrument to achieve the Efficiency of Decision Making Units. Section 4 demonstrates the position of Islamic Banking in the world. Finally, in the section 5, the Efficiency of Islamic Banks (41 banks in 2000 and 46 banks in 2001) in the world via CCR, BCC, CCR-BCC & BCC-CCR are identified and compared.

Using the currency substitution theory, this paper attempts to identify the determinants of currency substitution degree in Iran. The hypotheses of this paper are: 1-In Iranian economy the trend of currency substitution has been ascending. 2-There is a direct relationship between the degree of currency substitution and domestic inflation rate of the country (CPI). 3-The degree of currency substitution has an indirect relationship with the foreign exchange rate in the parallel market. 4- The degree of currency substitution in Iran has a direct relationship with GDP. The results reveal that the first and second hypotheses were verified and the third and fourth ones assumed not to be valid. Despite the reduction in the volume of dollar in some years, the trend of currency substitution has been increasing.

Throughout, history governments have intervened in the economic and social aspects of lives of the people. According to Keynesian Economists, sometimes, presence of the governments more actively is necessary; and sometimes they make some obstacles to economic growth and intervention must be limited. Thus the extent to which governments should intervene to the economic activities has been in focus. This paper examines the effect of government size on the economic growth rate by incorporating demographic variables. This study proves that the demographic variables not only affect the rate of the economic growth but also determine the size of the government. Moreover, when the demographic variables are included in the growth equations, the effect of the government size on the economic growth rate is significantly negative.