Regulation in the Islamic Political Economy: Comparative Perspectives

Abstract

The much debated topic of economic regulation and deregulation in the perspective of market transformation that is now gripping the global politico-economic climate, is studied with the Islamic focus in it. In the attempt, comparative ideas in this area are taken up, particularly those propounded by Baumol with regard to regulation of firms to generate a semblance of competitive pricing. The Islamic firm is studied in reference to a knowledge-based model of unification as manifested by extensive complementarity among possibilities. Such a model is shown to be the crux of Shari'ah in the Islamic political economy as in the broadest sense of the socio-scientific order, where process oriented as opposed to optimal models of equilibrium apply. In reference to such a knowledge-centred epistemological model of Divine Unity (Tawhid), it is argued that all kinds of regulation become redundant in the case of the Islamic firm. Such is a firm that complies with Shari 'ah rules in the Islamic political economy. Here the socioeconomic transformation is guided towards realizing ethicized markets. The short-run and long-run cases are studied with regards to the problem of regulation. إن موضوع تدخل الدولة في النشاط الاقتصادي يعتبر من أكثر المواضيع الاقتصادية جدلا خاصة في ظل التحولات التي تشهدها البيئة السياسية الاقتصادية في العالم. يهدف هذا البحث إلى إجراء دراسة مقارنة لأفكار تنظيم المنشآت، لاسيما الأفكار التي اقترحها بومول والخاصة بتوليد ما يشبه التسعير التنافسي في الأسواق، مع إبراز الموقف الفكري الإسلامي منها.