Islamic Corporate Governance: Risk-Sharing and Islamic Preferred Shares

The recent financial crises (including the Asian and subprime crises) indicated the need to reinforce corporate governance mechanisms in emerging and developing market economies. Corporate governance refers to all the factors that affect firm processes (including, among others, financing strategies). Firms must avoid debt financing instruments and adopt financing instruments that allow for “risk-sharing” rather than “risk-shifting” because all recent financial crises were, in essence, debt crises. The primary objective of this paper is to examine the principles of risk-sharing promoted by Islamic finance and study their implications for corporate governance. The secondary objective of this paper is to propose a pricing model for a new risk-sharing financial instrument (Islamic preferred shares, IPS) that was recently discussed by Zarka and Al-Suhaibani (Shariah-compatible preference shares: The Sharia Basis and Economic Rationale. Working paper, SABIC Chair for Islamic Financial Market Studies, 2012). We study the implications of this new instrument as a powerful tool for corporate governance in the case of Islamic markets. We explain the possible contribution of IPS to agency cost reduction, Sharia screening costs and ethical corporate governance.     

Ethical Decision Making: Special or No Different?

Theories of ethical decision making assume it is a process that is special, or different in some regard, from typical individual decision making. Empirical results of the most widely known theories in the field of business ethics contain numerous inconsistencies and contradictions. In an attempt to assess why we continue to lack understanding of how individuals make ethical decisions at work, an inductive study of ethical decision making was conducted. The results of this preliminary study suggest that ethical decision making might not be meaningfully “special” or different from other decision making processes. The implications of this research are potentially significant in that they challenge the fundamental assumption of existing ethical decision making research. This research could serve as an impetus for further examination of whether ethical decision making is meaningfully different from other decision making processes. Such studies could create new directions for the field of business ethics.     

Do Islamic Bond (Sukuk) Prices Reflect Financial and Policy Uncertainty? A Quantile Regression Approach

We studied the relationship between Islamic bond (sukuk) prices and financial and policy uncertainty conditions using a quantile regression approach. Our empirical results for the period 2010–2014 show that US bond prices had a negative impact and causality effects on sukuk prices, whereas European Monetary Union bond prices only co-moved with sukuk prices. We also show that financial uncertainty had a negative effect that was limited to intermediate sukuk quantiles; moreover, sukuk prices were not affected by economic policy uncertainty or stock market returns. Therefore, although Islamic bonds are distinctive assets, their price dynamics are dependent on other bond-related asset prices and so incorporate financial market uncertainty.     

The Business of Unethical Weapons

If recourse to war is sometimes justifiable, then weapons need to be available. But is all fair in war, or can and should some weapons be banned as unethical? If so, how will this affect the arms business in a shrinking market demanding continuous product innovation? The author is completing his MBA degree at London Business School and has a background in electronic engineering and computer science.     

Can Losses Caused by Wind Storms be Predicted from Meteorological Observations?

This paper contains a study of the extent to which aggregate losses due to severe wind storms can be explained by wind measurements. The analysis is based on 12 years of data for a region, Ska § ne, in southern Sweden. A previous investigation indicated that wind measurements from six recording stations in Ska § ne was insufficient to obtain accurate prediction. The present study instead uses geostrophic winds calculated from pressure readings, at a regular grid of size 50 kilometres over Ska § ne. However, also this meteorological data set is seen to be insufficient for accurate prediction of insurance risk. The results indicate that currently popular methods of evaluating wind storm risks from meteorological data should not be used uncritically by insurers or reinsurers. Nevertheless, wind data does contain some information on insurance. risks. There is a need for further research on how to use this information to improve risk assessment.     

Growth in economic relations of China and India with the GCC countries

The oil‐rich Arab countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have rapidly expanded their economic relations with Asian countries recently, particularly China and India. The main reason behind this development is that the regions complement each other in several dimensions. China and India are the fastest‐growing, oil‐consuming nations in the world, while GCC countries have the largest proven deposits of oil and gas. The GCC is interested in China and India as reliable oil customers over the long‐run and the latter look at the GCC as reliable suppliers of oil and gas. The two regions are also attracted to each other because both are enjoying strong economic growth and offer many investment opportunities to the other. It is expected that GCC economic relations with China and India will grow stronger in the coming decades and serve as a good example of South–South economic cooperation for other developing countries.     

Ranked set sampling: an auditing application

This study compares the statistical precision of simple random sampling with balanced ranked set sampling in an inventory valuation scenario. Computer simulation is used to calculate standard errors for the ranked set sampling mean, and those standard errors are then compared to the corresponding standard error achieved under simple random sampling. Results indicate that required sample sizes for a given precision are much smaller under ranked set sampling than under simple random sampling. This implies that simple random sampling is inferior to ranked set sampling in auditing scenarios involving the measurement of time consuming or difficult to gather data such as inventory observations, receivable confirmations, etc. Accordingly, auditors using ranked set sampling in lieu of simple random sampling can achieve the significant cost reductions associated with smaller sample sizes without sacrificing audit quality. This is a significant finding because current auditing practice is still using the simple random sampling methodology.     

Toward a Model for International Business Ethics

This paper briefly examines the topic of business ethics and attempts to suggest a code of ethics for multinational firms. While most companies have basic policies on employee integrity, confidentiality and sexual harassment, relatively few have established policies regarding bribery, exploitive child labor, human rights violations and other issues they may encounter in the global market place (Drake, 1998). Until recently, very few companies had truly global operations. Consequently little attention was paid to the issue of ethical guidelines in a global context. Recent changes in international markets have led to an explosion of corporations with global operations, and the need for a global code of ethics has grown commensurately. In this paper we explore the issue of global business ethics and attempt to provide a framework for future discussion. We also examine some of the unique difficulties surrounding the development of any set of global business standards. Key among these difficulties is the issue of competing ethical values in home and host countries.