An Analysis of Islamic Economic Model

The aim of this paper is to discuss some economic Islamic models given by some prestigious Islamic economists. The Islamic model is one of the examples for international economies in the starting of new millennium. It has its evaluation in the 1970s as an alternate to conventional banking system. The model is based on profit loss sharing and would not be based on interest. The study will focus on the proposed model and will discuss the issues that the model will be supposed to address. It was also address whether the model is applicable to Pakistan economy or not it will also be discussed. As we know that there is dual banking system in Pakistan. In order to make banking system to be truly Islam, there should be legal prohibition of riba. In other words, riba should be made unlawful and whoever deals with it can be prosecuted by law. By prohibiting riba, it will force the bank to be more creative in offering financing products rather than just loaning money. The study will attempt to show the comparison between conventional system and Islamic financial and discusses whether the Islamic system works smoothly on the economy of Pakistan. It also shows that Pakistan should change its dual banking system in Islamic banking system to change structure change. In addition, Islamic financing contract require real activities to be created. There will not be loans to finance extravagance lifestyle which is the source of bankruptcies among the younger generation. It is strongly recommended that Pakistan should enforce truly Islamic financial system to sustain its economy and avoid another economic crisis in the future.

The Relationship Between Behavioural Biases and Financial Wellbeing: Exploring Channels and Conditions in Pakistan

This study is aimed to investigate the moderating role of financial literacy and mediating role of financial behaviors on the relationship between behavioral biases and financial wellbeing by collecting evidence from Pakistan. The study is carried out on the presumption that human beings are not rational agents and they make decisions based on heuristics and mental shortcuts. It was believed that such heuristics, which are referred to as behavioral biases, could have implications towards the financial wellbeing of the individuals. A gap in existing literature was felt regarding the interrelationships of behavioral biases, financial behaviors, financial literacy and financial wellbeing. This study has filled this gap by following an explanatory sequential design through which a quantitative analysis followed by a qualitative analysis is carried out. During the quantitative phase, data collected through an online survey questionnaire (n=344) was analyzed through descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, multicollinearity diagnostics and structural equation modelling (SEM) etc. Whereas, in qualitative phase, the findings of quantitative analysis were interpreted in the light of feedback of financial management experts, collected through in-depth interviews (n=16). From these results, it is found that framing effect have significant implications towards the financial wellbeing of the individuals. Moreover, higher income level increases financial wellbeing; having a big family decreases financial wellbeing. Moreover, the way the information is framed significantly affect the financial behaviors. It is less likely that individuals having exponential growth bias exercise negative investment behaviors. Mental budgeting results in healthy financial behaviors. However, the negative impact of mental budgeting cannot be ignored as the human beings have restricted ability to understand and absorb the information. The study also found that people behave differently towards investments, depending upon whether they do job or business. The level of education affects the investment behaviors. There exists a relationship between investment behaviors and financial wellbeing. People exercising positive investment behaviors could have better financial wellbeing and vice versa. Therefore, investment behaviors play a mediating role between framing effect, exponential growth bias and mental budgeting and financial wellbeing. Moreover, a moderating role of actual financial literacy between exponential growth bias and financial wellbeing is also found, however, it needs further investigation. Recommendations are made based on the findings of both quantitative and qualitative analysis; limitations of the study and future research directions are also discussed.