The Gold Standard Anchored in Islamic Finance

Askari and Krichene provide a comprehensive background for recent international financial crises—rapid expansion of interest-bearing debt and monetary expansion though the fractional reserve banking system. In this context, the authors provide an analysis of the experience and issues associated with international payments systems—the various forms of the gold standard, the Bretton Woods system and the present system of flexible exchange rates. The authors go on to examine the case for fixed exchange rates (gold standard and other interesting variations) anchored in Islamic finance. The message of this book is that the gold standard could provide a solution for addressing international financial instability if and only if it is anchored in 100% reserve banking, which is an essential pillar of Islamic finance.

Hossein Askari received his Ph.D. in international finance and trade from the Massachusetts Institute for Technology, USA. He is currently the Iran Professor of International Business and International Affairs at George Washington University, USA.
 

Noureddine Krichene received her Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles, USA. She has served as a professor of finance at The Global University in Islamic Finance, Malaysia, an economist at the International Monetary Fund, Washington DC, USA, and an advisor to the Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Preface
Acknowledgements
List of Figures
List of Tables
1. Introduction
2. The Shortcomings of the Present Payments System
3. The Horrors of Hyperinflation
4. Origins of Gold as Money
5. The Gold Standard
6. Gold and the International Payments System
7. Bimetallism and the Gold-Exchange Standard
8. Recurrence of Financial Crises and Suspensions of Gold Payments
9. Strategies for Re-introducing the Gold Standard
10. Islamic Money and Capital Markets
11. The Gold Standard in Islamic Finance
Notes
Bibliography
Index