Islam and economic development

Chapter 16 by David Cobham and Abdallah Zouache examines the relationship between Islam and economic development in the economic literature. First, it considers the rise of Islamic economics, with particular reference to Islamic banking and finance, arguing that Islamic economics has failed to provide an alternative paradigm in most areas or to provide a truly distinctive set of practices in the finance area. Second, it considers the neo-institutionalist view that Islam has held back the development of the Muslim world, and here it argues that the case has not been made and suffers from a significant degree of prejudice. It concludes by calling for an economic analysis of the relation between Islam and economic development without religious or ideological preconceptions.