Module ECON43715: Empirical Topics in Islamic Finance and Economics

Department: Economics and Finance

ECON43715: Empirical Topics in Islamic Finance and Economics

Prerequisites

• Unless Advanced Microeconomics is being taken as a co-requisite, students must have a pass in a Level 2 undergraduate module in microeconomics, or equivalent

Corequisites

• Econometrics I; Advanced Financial Theory; and Advanced Microeconomics (unless students have a pass in a Level 2 undergraduate module in microeconomics, or equivalent)

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To enable students to:
• acquire and demonstrate a specialist knowledge and understanding of the economics of Islamic finance and its quantitative application
• appreciate the arguments for and against the existing Islamic finance practices
• develop a critical understanding of the rationales of Islamic economics and finance
• critically and quantitatively assess the existing Islamic finance theories and products
• investigate the new areas of development of Islamic economics and finance

Content

• Credit in Islamic finance
• Risk in Islamic finance
• Contract theoretic analysis of Islamic finance
• Corporate governance and regulation of Islamic finance
• Financial engineering in Islamic finance
• Behavioural approaches to Islamic finance
• Development finance and Islamic finance
• Data sources on Islamic finance

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of this module students should have a specialist knowledge and critical understanding of:
• The ongoing quantitative research in Islamic economics and finance
• The application of economic theory and methods to Islamic finance
• Islamic finance products based on both economic theory and shari’a compliance

• By the end of this module students should be able to:
• Apply quantitative techniques to research in Islamic economics and finance
• Appreciate differences in methodological approaches to address research questions in Islamic economics and finance

• written communication;
• planning, organising and time management;
• problem-solving and analytical skills;
• computer literacy
• summarizing and critically assessing professional reports, statements and academic articles.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• A combination of lectures, seminars and guided reading will contribute to achieving the aims and learning outcomes of this module.
• In-class presentations of journal papers and students’ projects will test students’ specialist knowledge and critical understanding of the current research.
• Formative assessment will test the students’ progress during the term and their understanding of the covered material.
• The summative assignment will test students' abilities to apply the methods and knowledge covered in the module to their own research project.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

In-class presentations. Project description (1000 words).

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University