Читать книгу Introduction to Islamic Banking and Finance - M Kabir Hassan - Страница 28

Islamic economic principles are very much open and favourable towards a market-based economy. By enabling the market economy to run competitively, an Islamic economy provides market-based solutions for employment creation and improvement in living standards through effective and efficient utilization of resources. The market competitiveness is achieved by removing from the economy those factors which lead to concentration of wealth and underutilization of given labour and non-labour resources in the economy. In an Islamic economic framework, private investment is incentivized by the institution of Zakat which favours private investment/spending rather than hoarding wealth.

In a market following Islamic norms and values, the market forces will determine which Halal goods and services should be produced and offered at what price. Firms produce goods with resources provided by the household sector. Households are paid a return on their labour. If households provide investment capital, then they are provided a share in profits. Firms produce and sell goods in the goods market which are purchased by the households. These households obtain purchasing power by providing rentable factors of production like labour services (Ijarat-ul-Ashkhas) or usufruct of a naturally existing or produced real asset (Ijarat-ul-A’yan) in the production process and earn compensation in terms of wage and rent, respectively. As per Islamic rules of trade, the subject matter should be Halal and the price once determined cannot be changed in a credit sale after the sale is executed.

Since contemporary businesses require expensive and long duration capital goods for achieving efficiency and economies of scale, sourcing capital from individual households having surplus investible capital might be cumbersome. Islamic banks exist to reduce transaction cost, mitigate moral hazard and provide asset backed financing. Islamic banks monitor the investments made by households and share the profits on investments with them.

Since there is no provision of earning money by simply loaning fiat money, all the financing provided is backed by real assets in the Islamic economic framework. This mitigates the moral hazard problem and the misuse of funds. It also ensures that the real assets are traded or leased when a financing contract is executed. Thus, it strengthens the link with the real economy and links the payoffs with the outcome of real economic transactions rather than fixing profit for one party in investments.

As per Islamic principles, for earning money on monetary investments, the money capital has to be invested in a productive enterprise to earn a share in actual profit/loss out of the productive enterprise in which it is used. Rather than concentrating risk with only the borrower, the risk is widely shared in Islamic banking instruments and contracts.

By ensuring that financial intermediaries cannot simply earn interest on money capital alone, they necessarily have to ensure that they provide asset backed financing and these assets are purchased from the resource markets (such as raw materials, equipment, and machinery) or goods market (such as cars and consumer appliances).

Finally, the institution of Zakat ensures that the poor and hungry people who earn below subsistence level incomes are provided with income support so that they can fulfil their basic needs. Producers and rich households who are required to pay Zakat, Ushr (10% levy on the value of produce requiring either labour or capital for production), Khamsa (5% levy or half Ushr on value of produce requiring both labour and capital for production), and Khums (20% levy on value of produce requiring neither labour nor capital for production) share their incomes with the poor households.

Figure 2.6. Islamic economics framework.

Thus, the Islamic economic framework ensures that the investible capital is invested in the real economy and through which, a greater magnitude of employment opportunities are created against an interest-based financial system in which the funds can be invested in financial derivatives and money market to earn a risk-free return. Finally, those households which remain unable to earn sufficient incomes to meet their needs are supported through the second phase of circulation of endowments which is not based on the profit motive, but which is driven by pure altruism. Figure 2.6 shows the Islamic economic framework in which the dashed lines represent monetary flows and the solid lines represent the commodity flows.