Azura Othman – författare

This book offers an alternative framework for macroeconomic policy in Malaysia, derived from the universal principles of social justice espoused in the objectives of the Shariah. It attempts to holistically analyze issues related to public finance, which has been criticized for lack of transparency and justice in wealth distribution. This book explores these criticisms and discusses the principles of Islamic finance that may be applied to macroeconomic policymaking to create a better economy overall. It presents a case for a flat tax system, to make the economy more resilient to shocks, and financing methods that limit interest-rate-based debt contracts and allow greater risk sharing among the market participants on a broad scale. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, this book models the Malaysian economy based on policies that apply the fundamental Islamic finance principle of risk sharing to demonstrate its benefits in spurring growth, promoting distributive justice, rendering the economy more stable, strengthening the potency of monetary policy, enhancing fiscal governance, and improving financial inclusion. The book will be of interest to students, policymakers, financial institutions, researchers, ministries of finance, central banks, securities commissions, and anyone interested in alternative economic paradigms.

This book offers an alternative framework for macroeconomic policy in Malaysia, derived from the universal principles of social justice espoused in the objectives of the Shariah. It attempts to holistically analyze issues related to public finance, which has been criticized for lack of transparency and justice in wealth distribution. This book explores these criticisms and discusses the principles of Islamic finance that may be applied to macroeconomic policymaking to create a better economy overall. It presents a case for a flat tax system, to make the economy more resilient to shocks, and financing methods that limit interest-rate-based debt contracts and allow greater risk sharing among the market participants on a broad scale. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, this book models the Malaysian economy based on policies that apply the fundamental Islamic finance principle of risk sharing to demonstrate its benefits in spurring growth, promoting distributive justice, rendering the economy more stable, strengthening the potency of monetary policy, enhancing fiscal governance, and improving financial inclusion. The book will be of interest to students, policymakers, financial institutions, researchers, ministries of finance, central banks, securities commissions, and anyone interested in alternative economic paradigms.

The financial crisis of the last decade has brought to the fore many discourses on the stability of the financial system under the current interest rate regime and whether issuing more debts, that create further divergence between the financial and real sector of the economy, is a sustainable solution to the ensuing debt crisis that followed. Invigoratingeconomic development may need more than just achieving mere growth in GDP numbers and other mainstream macroeconomic key performance indices. Social equity, environmental conservation, inclusive development, and equitable income distribution are concepts that are increasingly given more weight in the measurement of economic development. The onset of the pandemic of the current decade has further emphasized the importance of these considerations as well as the concept of sharing of risks and return. This book analyses the past and current fiscal situation in Malaysia and identifies areas of improvements in the current tax system and public sector financing in generating the required revenue and financing government expenditure. The alternative fiscal framework proposed in this book covers a tax structure that features a simple and fairer tax system that is based on the ability to pay and public financing which is free of interest and provides opportunity for broader participation of the public. As Malaysia has a comprehensive framework as well as firm regulatory and government support for Islamic finance, the fiscal reform builds on an important feature of risk sharing Islamic finance that brings the real and financial sectors of the economy close together. The fiscal policy reform recommended in this book seeks to address the public debt burden, expand fiscal space, increase financial inclusion, reduce income and wealth disparities, increase employment and income for the growing population and ultimately improve social solidarity especially for a pluralistic country such as Malaysia.

The financial crisis of the last decade has brought to the fore many discourses on the stability of the financial system under the current interest rate regime and whether issuing more debts, that create further divergence between the financial and real sector of the economy, is a sustainable solution to the ensuing debt crisis that followed. Invigoratingeconomic development may need more than just achieving mere growth in GDP numbers and other mainstream macroeconomic key performance indices. Social equity, environmental conservation, inclusive development, and equitable income distribution are concepts that are increasingly given more weight in the measurement of economic development. The onset of the pandemic of the current decade has further emphasized the importance of these considerations as well as the concept of sharing of risks and return.

This book analyses the past and current fiscal situation in Malaysia and identifies areas of improvements in the current tax system and public sector financing in generating the required revenue and financing government expenditure. The alternative fiscal framework proposed in this book covers a tax structure that features a simple and fairer tax system that is based on the ability to pay and public financing which is free of interest and provides opportunity for broader participation of the public.

As Malaysia has a comprehensive framework as well as firm regulatory and government support for Islamic finance, the fiscal reform builds on an important feature of risk sharing Islamic finance that brings the real and financial sectors of the economy close together. The fiscal policy reform recommended in this book seeks to address the public debt burden, expand fiscal space, increase financial inclusion, reduce income and wealth disparities, increase employment and income for the growing population and ultimately improve social solidarity especially for a pluralistic country such as Malaysia.