Hassan (U. of New Orleans, US) and Lewis (U. of South Australia, Australia) present this collection of 25 papers with the intention of providing readers with an overview of the current
knowledge and debates on the institutions and practices of Islamic banking and finance. Opening chapters discuss the development of Islamic economic and social thought, the Islamic critique of
conventional financing, and other foundational issues. The operations of Islamic banks are discussed in papers that address incentive compatibility, operational efficiency and performance,
marketing of Islamic financial products, bank governance, and risk management. Money market instruments, trade financing, securitization, project finance, stock speculation, and mutual funds
are discussed next. A number of papers discuss Islamic banks in the context of economic development, government borrowing, and accounting standards. Concluding papers discuss Islamic banking in
the context of globalization. Annotation 穢2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
