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Given the fact that the Islamic economic paradigm differs from the secular capitalist paradigm in terms of its emphasis on morality and spirituality, the author thinks that the current Human Development Index (HDI) does not capture human development from an Islamic perspective. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to provide a paradigmatic, theoretical, and conceptual model for the suggested Islamic HDI (iHDI) and second, to present several proxy variables for multi-dimensional iHDI and test the proposed index through empirical data for ten Muslim countries.

The author developed eight-dimensional composite iHDIs based on the understanding of human nature from the Tawhidi anthropology. These dimensions included physical, reasoning, spiritual, ethical, animal, social, deciding, and oppressive selves. The author measured them using nine different indices, three of which came from the conventional HDI (cHDI). The author then compared the rankings of those Muslim countries in iHDI to those in cHDI.

The iHDI rankings for all Muslim countries except two differed from those in cHDI. The difference was more substantial for countries with higher economic development. Thus, improved cHDI rankings for Muslim countries based on their economic development do not necessarily mean that they move toward ideal human development. This finding confirms the need for an alternative human development indexing approach from an Islamic perspective.

The paper is likely to initiate movement to develop an alternative HDI from Islamic perspective.

The paper findings have important policy implications for Muslim countries.

It is the first empirical paper showing how to develop an alternative HDI from an Islamic perspective.

This paper aims to compare free market capitalism and Islamic moral economy in terms of corresponding means and ends for a happy life. The paper reveals that global consumer culture is the inevitable outcome of secularization. As people pursue fulfillment with worldly possession, position and pleasure, they mistakenly think that higher material consumption would result in higher subjective wellbeing. Muslims are increasingly joining consumer culture because they are affected by global consumerism. The paper attempts to show that Islam has a potential to curb unsustainable consumer culture.

The paper explores a relationship between consumer culture and free market capitalism. It presents Islamic way of happiness as an alternative to hedonic happiness which is promoted by global consumer culture. It defines happiness as fulfillment in life through the realization of God and pursuit of His pleasure by finding transcendental meaning for having, being and doing.

The paper concludes that the Islamic way to happiness is different from hedonic happiness which leads to conspicuous consumption. It argues that once internalized, Islamic worldview would make possible to achieve a higher level of happiness without engaging in higher material consumption. It maintains that authentic happiness from an Islamic perspective is not the maximization of pleasure through indulging in consumer culture. Rather it is the fulfillment of heart and other faculties through remembrance (seeing the transcendental reality of the universe and the self) of God. Submission to God and living to gain His pleasure are the logical implications of such realization.

The paper reveals how consumer culture brings less happiness through more consumption, while Islam offers more happiness through less consumption.

This paper aims to explore the root cause of growing gap in Islamic moral ideals and practices by examining paradigmatic foundation and moral axioms of Islamic business ethics. It compares and contrasts Tawhidi and secular paradigms in terms of their moral axioms and ethical mandates.

The paper first presents the paradigmatic foundation of Islamic ethics, namely, ihsan ethics. Second, it compares Tawhidi paradigm of Islam with secular paradigm in respect to their ontological, axiological, anthropological and teleological differences. Third, it links to Islamic moral axioms to the relevant paradigmatic pillars. Fourth, it defines “ihsan ethics” based on Tawhidi paradigm and moral axioms. Finally, it sheds some light on the gap between moral ideals and realities through the theory of ihsan ethics.

The paper attempts to provide strong conceptual and theoretical tools to understand ethical problems in the Muslim societies. The paper makes a strong case that Muslim minds shall be de-secularized to perceive the reality, truth and telos within Tawhidi worldview. As Muslims reach the level of ihsan by perceiving transcendental reality, they are likely to practice what they preach.

The paper proposes “ihsan ethics” based on Tawhidi worldview and Islamic moral axioms.

Previous research using the Aspiration Index (AI) suggests that intrinsic goals are positively, but extrinsic/materialistic goals are negatively associated with subjective well-being (SWB). The purpose of this paper is to extend the scope of previous research by exploring the pursuit of different goals in conjunction with SWB in a country with a culture mixing western and traditional values. Several hypotheses regarding the effects of extrinsic, intrinsic, hedonic, and self-transcendent values on SWB were tested.

An extended AI survey was conducted among randomly selected cross-sectional sample of 878 Turkish adults in Istanbul. The survey data were analyzed to explore the relationship between 14 aspiration domains and SWB using both correlation coefficients and several different regression models.

The study confirms the basic assumptions of the AI research in a Muslim society with a hybrid culture of materialistic and spiritual aspirations. The study found weak supporting evidence for the contribution of two newly added domains (i.e. aesthetic appreciation as well as honesty and fairness) to SWB, whereas the evidence for the positive contribution of intellectual life was overwhelming. Paradoxically, although the evidence from both correlation and regression coefficients supported a positive relationship between household income and SWB, after dividing the sample into two groups based on their income level, the low-income earners turned out to have relatively higher life satisfaction, holding everything else constant. More importantly, the study reveals that the impact of materialistic aspirations on SWB is still negative even if they are pursued in a hybrid culture.

The study included three new domains in the conventional AI model. Although the findings confirmed the importance of two domains, it is important that they be replicated in other studies, particularly in different cultural settings.

This study makes a significant contribution in terms of testing the effect of materialist and spiritual values on SWB in a Muslim country.

The attention to the university–business collaboration (UBC) for its role in the knowledge-based economy is growing in many countries. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to conduct two surveys to explore the causes of low collaboration between the private sector and academia in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The first survey covers nearly 50 companies to learn their perspectives. Using the findings of the first survey, a second survey was conducted of university researchers to understand the determinants of private and public funding of research and development projects. The survey provided two types of data, namely, categorical and continuous, which were subjected to reliability and normality tests. A linear regression analysis also was utilized to explore the role of different factors on the funded projects by the two sectors.

There is a perception among researchers that the private sector is woefully underestimating research capacity of Saudi universities. One interesting finding is that publishing in journals from the International Scientific Indexing (ISI) is a strong predictor for government funding, but not for private funding. From the private sector perspective, publishing in ISI-indexed journals is not sufficient evidence of research capability. Moreover, high teaching load is a major obstacle in acquiring private funding, but not so for public funding.

The paper provides two main recommendations to improve collaboration. First, universities should incentivize publishing in high-impact journals more than in ISI-indexed journals to increase the faculty’s research capabilities. Second, universities should reduce the teaching load of faculty involved in research projects, particularly those funded by the private sector.

The outcomes of this survey-based study are very valuable to the ecosystem of academia, business and government in general and for Saudi Arabia in particular, where there is a vital need to implement the right policies regarding UBC in the country.

This paper aims to discuss the crises of free market capitalism in terms of its understanding of human nature. It reveals how recent market madness can be attributed to certain elements of human nature.

The paper uses a conceptual and philosophical approach to analyze crises of free market capitalism. It links both success and failure of capitalism to its understanding of human nature. It compares and contrasts economic assumptions of human nature in conventional and Islamic economics. It attempts to explain the 2008 financial crisis through a comprehensive theory of human nature.

It sheds some light on the irrational aspect of human nature as the driving factor behind the 2008 financial crisis. It elaborates on the importance of knowing self for knowing human decisions in free market economy. It concludes with the need for a comprehensive theory of human nature to predict and prevent irrational and irresponsible behaviors of populist politicians, greedy capitalists and conspicuous consumers. The paper also reflects on the 2013 Nobel Prize in economics as a victory for the study of human nature.

The paper offers a new perspective to understand crises of free market capitalism.

The purpose of this paper is to report that the social business model has emerged to mitigate the failure of free-market capitalism driven by self-interest in creating social value. It shows how social business contradicts with free-market capitalism while being compatible with Islamic moral economy due to the axiomatic differences between the two economic systems.

The paper follows conceptual, axiomatic and theoretical approach to show how the social business model contradicts with free-market capitalism, but is compatible with Islamic moral economy. The paper provides a theoretical framework for Islamic social business based on an Islamic human and social development perspective. The paper first discusses the failure of free-market capitalism and the emergence of social business in the capitalist system. It then defines Islamic social business and lays out its axiomatic foundation based on the Islamic worldview. It also presents Islamic financial instruments and funds for social business. Finally, it makes a case for sustainable socioeconomic development and subjective well-being within the Islamic development paradigm.

The paper shows that a cosmetic change to capitalism is not sufficient for enabling the social business model to take the main stage in the free-market system. There is a need for a new paradigm of reality, truth, telos and human nature to support social business. Tawhidi paradigm can be such alternative. The paper makes a strong case for social business from an Islamic worldview. Particularly, certain economic axioms within the Tawhidi anthropology, teleology and axiology provide intrinsic causes for pursuing such business model. The multi-dimensional nature of humans from the Tawhidi anthropology sets the intrinsic foundation for social business. Indeed, although the social business model is new to the West, it has been practiced in certain forms in the Muslim world throughout history. Zakat, sadaqah, and qard hasan can be used to support social business in addition to some Islamic banking instruments. The paper suggests that Muslim countries should embrace the social business model for sustainable development and greater subjective well-being.

The paper is purely theoretical. Future studies might shed light on the issue through empirical evidence.

The paper is likely to enhance the interest in social business in the Muslim world.

The paper has potential to lead the creation of social value through dissemination of the social business model.

The paper contributes the Islamic moral economy doctrine by making a strong case for Islamic social business.

This paper aims to compare Pareto optimality for altruistic and individualistic societies to show whether it is possible to have Pareto improvement through altruistic acts even after free market equilibrium.

The paper follows conceptual, axiomatic and theoretical approaches to show Pareto efficiency in altruistic versus individualistic societies. The paper first outlines the welfare axioms of Islamic economics compared to those of capitalism. Second, it defines Pareto efficiency within capitalist and Islamic economic systems. Third, it compares and contrasts the concept in the two systems based on their epistemological and anthropological worldviews. Fourth, it shows how – even under the efficient allocation of material goods – room for Pareto improvement still exists through the redistribution of resources. Finally, it demonstrates optimum income transfer for social welfare maximization.

The paper shows that Islamic economics relying on certain welfare axioms aim for an altruistic society. It then theoretically proves that social well-being would be greater in such an altruistic society in comparison to an individualistic society promoted by capitalism, holding everything else constant. The paper clearly shows that free market equilibrium does not maximize social utility. It theoretically demonstrates that even under efficient allocation of material goods, there is still room for Pareto improvement through redistribution of resources. It reveals that optimum income transfer might not be possible through voluntary altruistic behaviors unless people transcend self-interest and begin to value social interest as important as their own interest. Therefore, the paper suggests a role for the government to reach optimum-level income transfer for social welfare maximization.

The paper is purely theoretical. Its main limitation is not to be empirically tested. Future studies might shed light on the issue through empirical evidence

Pareto improvement provides important guidance or at least moral justification for welfare programs. The paper might directly affect welfare policy of Muslim countries.

The paper suggests income transfer through altruistic acts would provide higher social welfare. Therefore, it is in the best interest of nations to promote altruistic behaviors and support voluntary welfare programs for higher social utility.

The paper contributes to the Islamic moral economy doctrine by proving that altruistic behaviors encouraged by Islamic teaching could provide higher social welfare.

The purpose of this paper is to offer a new theory of human nature to explain the happiness paradox of capitalism.

It is argued that happiness crisis in capitalism stems from the lack of full understanding of human nature which is like a black box from which key assumptions in capitalist market system are derived. The author attempts to unlock this black box in order to understand the failure of capitalism in bringing happiness.

As the success of capitalism comes from its partial understanding of human nature, its failure comes from its partial misunderstanding or exploitation of human nature. This leads to ignoring the needs and desires of certain elements of human nature for the sake of serving only the animal spirit and self‐centric ego. The proposed new theory offers a new understanding of happiness and its determinants. Comparing the human body to a luxury recreational vehicle (RV) and the elements of human nature to the companions on this vehicle, the theory suggests that an individual cannot be truly happy if he or she listens only to one of his/her residents while disregarding the others. The new theory offers better explanation for the 2008 financial crisis and the happiness paradox in wealthy nations. It also provides an underlining framework for the existing happiness theories.

The new theory needs to be tested through empirical studies.

The paper theoretically argues that that authentic happiness is possible if individuals listen to the voices of all elements of human nature and try to fulfil their needs and desires in a balanced manner.

The paper offers a new comprehensive theory on human nature.