Abstract
Previous studies on financial development have shown that differences in the legal origin explain differences in financial development. Using historical comparisons and cross-country regressions for 40 countries observed for the period from 2005 to 2018, our research assesses how different legal origins have affected the development of Islamic finance worldwide. More particularly, our research assesses empirically why and how the adoption of Shari’a, wholly or partially (combined with common or civil law), could explain the level of development of Islamic finance in different jurisdictions. Our primary results show that countries adopting a Shari’a legal system have a very well-developed Islamic financial system. Moreover, countries adopting a mixed legal system based on common law and Shari’a law have sufficient flexibility within their legal systems to make changes to their laws in response to the changing socioeconomic conditions, and this has helped the development of the Islamic financial industry. However, countries adopting a mixed legal system based on both civil law and Shari’a law appear less flexible in making changes to their old laws and this thwarted the development of the Islamic financial industry in these countries. Furthermore, we have found that the concentration of a Muslim population (the percentage of Muslim population) along with the level of income have both had a positive effect on the development of Islamic banking assets and on the development of Islamic banking as a whole.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Introduction: Law and Development in the Islamic World
- Articles
- Legal Origin, Institutional Quality, and Islamic Finance Development: Does Shari’a Matter?
- Building Islamic Ethics into Development: Exploring the Role and Limitations of “Islamic” Microfinance in Poverty Alleviation—An Indonesian Case Study
- Islamic Finance as a Vehicle to Promote Improved Intellectual Property Rights in the Gulf Cooperation Council
- Shari’a Law and Its Impact on the Development of Muslim and Non-Muslim Business Relations in the United Arab Emirates
- Anti-Money Laundering Regulation and Practice of Islamic Banks in the United Arab Emirates: A Case Study
- Addressing Instability in Thailand’s Deep South with Law and Development
- Note
- COVID-19: Public Access to Information – Legal and Institutional Frameworks
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Introduction: Law and Development in the Islamic World
- Articles
- Legal Origin, Institutional Quality, and Islamic Finance Development: Does Shari’a Matter?
- Building Islamic Ethics into Development: Exploring the Role and Limitations of “Islamic” Microfinance in Poverty Alleviation—An Indonesian Case Study
- Islamic Finance as a Vehicle to Promote Improved Intellectual Property Rights in the Gulf Cooperation Council
- Shari’a Law and Its Impact on the Development of Muslim and Non-Muslim Business Relations in the United Arab Emirates
- Anti-Money Laundering Regulation and Practice of Islamic Banks in the United Arab Emirates: A Case Study
- Addressing Instability in Thailand’s Deep South with Law and Development
- Note
- COVID-19: Public Access to Information – Legal and Institutional Frameworks