Islamic Economics system In the Eyes of Maulana Maududi-An Analysis

Attempt has been made to investigate the Islamic Economics System from the perspectives of Maulana Maududi. He is one of the greatest thinkers that Islamic world has ever produced. He was a great scholar, and has written a large number of books, articles and booklets on different aspects of Islam. Economics has been one of the fields of his interest. It may be said that at least in the Sub-Continent, he was the person, who has established “Economics of Islam” as a separate branch of knowledge. In this context, he has highlighted the characteristics, principles and objectives of this system. On the pattern set by him, a large number of Muslim economic thinkers have followed his line of thinking. According to Maulana Maududi basic principles of Islamic economic systems are: private ownership, limits of halal and haram, economic equality, free economy and welfare role of state. Whereas this system is established to achieve the objectives of human liberty, simultaneous development of material and moral growth, establishment of justice, equal distribution of wealth, fulfillment of basic needs of people and co-ordination between different groups of society.Islamic economic system, Principles, Objectives.

The Nature of Infaq and its Effects on Distribution of Weal

Infaq is one of the basic terms of Quran, which is used in Quran, at almost sixty places. It is basically pious spending in the way of Allah. It has a significant importance in Islamic economic principles, with reference to redistribution of wealth and elimination of poverty. At different places Quran has described its different aspects, e.g. its need, conditions, ways and monetary and non monetary results. It is used by holy prophet, Peace be upon him (P.B.U.H) at different occasions to fulfill the needs of individuals and society as well. In order to ensure the better distribution of wealth which is the need of time, it is necessary to follow the orders of Infaq as given in Quran, and also the guidelines provided by holy prophet P.B.U.H., therefore, the basic objective of this paper is to analyze the role of these spending particularly infaq as a tool of equitable income distribution in an Islamic society.Infaq Quran, Allah

An Analytical Review of Different Concepts of Riba (Interest) in the Sub-Continent

The traditional concept of Riba (interest) is an excess amount on loan, which creditor receives from debtor on the repayment of loan. There is almost a consensus on the sprit of this concept that it is traditional thought or school; but along with that some other point of views also exist, which present Riba, in somewhat different ways, will be termed as non-traditional approach in this paper. Both of these schools are agreed on the point that, Riba is just restricted to debt, and the increment on it is Riba; but the main difference among these is that: former approach claims that, each and every addition on loan, regardless of purpose and time duration of loan is Riba; but, the later approach demand’s some room for that on different grounds. Actually both of them do not have any sound base. When the concept of unearned income (the income, which is not the result of human labor), is a recognized fact in Islamic economics in different forms, like: ijara (rent), Mudoraba and Mazara’a (Share Cropping); then definitely no logical reason is left to avoid excess income on loan. Both approaches are just unable to give a concrete concept of Riba.Riba, Interest, Rent, Share Cropping

Corporate Governance Attributes and Firm Value: Evidence from Pakistan

A sound corporate governancemechanism is associated with significant and positive effect on firm’s value, increasingproductivity and earnings, decreasing systematic risks and easier access to capital.This paper aims to examine the difference in quality of firm level governance characteristicsand its impact on firm performance for companies listed at Karachi Stock Exchangeduring the years from 2010 to 2013. Empirical analysis was made between firm’s valueas measured by Tobins Q and Corporate Governance characteristics: Board Size, BoardMembers, CEO Duality and Audit Committee independence. The results indicate thatthere is a relationship between corporate governance attributes and firm performancein Pakistan. Members on the Board can add to companies’ activities by ensuring properimplementation of policies. We found positive significant relationship between AuditCommittee Independence and firm performance. CEO duality does affect firm performancebut its value is not significant. We could not find significant relationship betweenboard independence and firm performance. Presence of female directors and familydirectors on the board affects firm performance negatively.Keywords: CorporateGovernance, Firm Performance, Tobins Q, Pakistan, Female Directo

Public Opinion towards Advertising: Factor Analytic Findings From Pakistan

This study aims to investigate the public opinion about advertising in Pakistan. A survey of respondents studying at various universities was conducted [N = 575]. This study uses Polly and Mittal (1993) model of beliefs and attitudes towards advertising. The data was collected from SEC A and B classes through survey method using quota sampling technique. The public opinion was first analyzed using Factor Analysis and resulted in seven opinion categories  i.e., a) Skeptic; b)  Ecstatic; c) Sarcastic; d) Trendy; e) Rationalist; f) Dogmatic; and g) Sagacious. These opinions were finally summarized into two schools of thoughts i.e., a) Sanguine; and b) Antagonist. This piece of research will provide tremendous opportunities to marketers in understanding consumers and their attitudes towards advertising in Pakistan. Advertisement is a ubiquitous part of modern life and previous research shows that consumers around the globe hold a negative view of advertising (Shavitt, lowrey & Hafner, 1998). Consumers are deluged by advertisements and media in a variety of ways every day. In an era where communication with customer is considered critical, it becomes crucial to assess the attitudes and confidence of general public towards advertisement (O’Guinn, Allen, and Semenik, 1998: Krugman, Reid, Dunn, and Barban, 1994). Keywords: Public opinion, advertising, Factor Analyti

Laws of Consumption - An Economic Construal

Consumption is one of the important variables of macro economics.  It is that part of income of a house hold which is not saved.  It plays a vital role in the economy; this is the reason that, Quran has given special emphasis on it and gives some basic laws in this regard.  Quran has warned the human being that your consumption is under observation of God and on the Day of Judgment questions will be asked about that.  Moreover it is also ordered that, do not waste your wealth in any way and consume it in the optimum manner.  In addition gratitude of wealth is also compulsory.  The way of gratitude is the obedience of laws of God.  Keywords: Quran; Verses, Consumption, Wastage; Obedience

Firm-level political risk and dividend payout

We use a novel measure of firm-level political risk based on a textual search technique on firms\u27 quarterly earnings conference transcripts to explain dividend payouts in publicly listed U.S. firms. We find a positive and significant effect of firm-level political risk on dividend payouts, particularly in uncertainties related to economics, institutions, technology, trade, and security. The effect is more pronounced in firms with better corporate governance, less analyst follow-up, and higher growth opportunities. These results support the signaling role of dividends rather than the role of agency theory in explaining dividend payouts when firms are associated with higher levels of political risk. We also find the effect to be prominent after controlling for an aggregate measure of economic policy uncertainty and in poor economic conditions and in major political event periods. We address endogeneity concerns by running placebo tests and conducting instrumental variable analysis and we alleviate self-selection bias by performing propensity score matching technique

Al-Zakat: Taxation Model in Public Finance

Al-zakat is a Quranic term, which is considered as a religious financial worship. From traditional point of view a fixed percentage i.e. 2.5% is imposed as a religion tax on the Muslims which have a certain quantity of gold, silver and some animals. The heads on which this amount may be spent and the rate is considered as fixed. But the actual fact is that, Quran has used this term for the taxation system of an Islamic state. Different reasons from Quran can be given to prove this claim, e.g. Quran has separated al-zakat from al-sadaqat and expenditure in the way of Allah and do not consider it as a donation, imposition of al-zakat is associated with getting of power, Quran did not appeal to pay it but the order is given for the same, the heads and rate of al-zakat are not given in Quran. Keywords: Quran; Verse; al-zakat; Donation; Sadaqa

The Nature of Infaq and its Effects on Distribution of Weal

Infaq is one of the basic terms of Quran, which is used in Quran, at almost sixty places. It is basically pious spending in the way of Allah. It has a significant importance in Islamic economic principles, with reference to redistribution of wealth and elimination of poverty. At different places Quran has described its different aspects, e.g. its need, conditions, ways and monetary and non monetary results. It is used by holy prophet, Peace be upon him (P.B.U.H) at different occasions to fulfill the needs of individuals and society as well. In order to ensure the better distribution of wealth which is the need of time, it is necessary to follow the orders of Infaq as given in Quran, and also the guidelines provided by holy prophet P.B.U.H., therefore, the basic objective of this paper is to analyze the role of these spending particularly infaq as a tool of equitable income distribution in an Islamic society