The Islamic financial system has become an important source of financing for many Muslim and non-Muslim countries. Therefore, this paper examines the role of institutions in facilitating the development of Islamic financial institutions. The study covers the period 2013-2021 for a panel of 11 leading economies in Islamic finance and employs fixed effects with the Driscoll and Kraay (1998) estimator. The results show a positive impact of effective governance on the development of Islamic finance. However, regulatory quality has a significant negative impact on the development of Islamic finance. Thus, we argue for the improvement of critical institutions that include political, legal, governmental, and regulatory aspects.

This study aims to examine the strengthening of the Islamic philanthropy ecosystem through collaboration between media, Islamic institutions, and society, with a focus on the role of media in reinforcing Islamic philanthropic values in the digital age. In this context, both traditional and digital media are identified as highly influential forces in expanding reach and encouraging public participation in philanthropic activities. However, this study also highlights the primary challenge of misrepresenting the principles of Islamic philanthropy in mainstream media, which often obscures the public’s understanding of the broader characteristics and goals of charity in Islam beyond just financial donations. The study employs a qualitative approach using a literature review method, analyzing various related literature such as scholarly articles, research reports, and books on Islamic philanthropy, media, and community involvement. This research also explores the potential of social media as a tool to broaden the reach of philanthropy, particularly among the youth, as well as the importance of transparency and accountability in digital-based philanthropic campaigns. The findings of this research suggest that effective collaboration between media, Islamic institutions, and society can create a greater social impact, raise awareness about the importance of philanthropy, and increase participation in charitable activities. However, to achieve these goals, the use of media must be done wisely and ethically, with a focus on creating authentic narratives and managing transparency. This study provides new insights into how such collaboration can strengthen the Islamic philanthropy ecosystem in the modern era.

This study examines the asymmetric response of fiscal sustainability to financial development in Nigeria while augmenting the model with exchange rate volatility within the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag framework. The empirical evidence reveals that positive and negative shocks in domestic credit to the private sector result in significant unsustainable fiscal balance and fiscal sustainability both in the short run and long run respectively. Increase and decrease in annual market capitalization have a positive and negative significant impact on the fiscal sustainability in the long run respectively. Exchange rate devaluation or depreciation has a devastating effect on fiscal sustainability both in the short run and long run. Wald test revealed that credit to the private sector and annual market capitalization have an asymmetric effect on fiscal sustainability both in the short run and long run, while the exchange rate has no asymmetric effect on fiscal sustainability. For a sustainable fiscal stance, we recommend a financial model that channels credits towards productive activities to boost GDP as this will go a long way in reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio and enhancing solvency.

This study examines the dynamic relationship between growth, inflation, and real money balances in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). We apply a new approach by extending comprehensive econometric methods so that monetary dynamics can be better understood in the West African sub-region. The study obtained data from the World Bank from 2006 to 2021 and covered 15 countries. For robustness checks, we estimate dynamic ordinary least squares and fully modified ordinary least squares. These findings reveal the existence of a significant cointegration relationship between growth, real balance, and inflation. Furthermore, this study found that real balance has a positive long-run dynamic impact on growth. Likewise, there is a short-run positive impact of money and inflation on growth. We contribute to the literature on the money-growth nexus by focusing on West Africa, which faces macroeconomic vulnerabilities due to structural imbalances. These findings have policy implications for central banks and the Fiscal Agency. Central Banks must collaborate to reduce money in the informal sector, while Fiscal Authorities must control inflation collectively.