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The financialization of the economy has brought a number of interrelated problems which have contributed to growing income and wealth inequality. Askari and Mirakhor assert that it is time to make a bold change by putting our financial house in order and on a better path, advocating for a fundamental reform of the financial system.

The authors provide a comprehensive background for recent international financial crises--rapid expansion of interest-bearing debt and monetary expansion though the fractional reserve banking system. In this context, the authors provide an analysis of the experience and issues associated with international payments systems--the various forms of the gold standard, the Bretton Woods system and the present system of flexible exchange rates. The authors go on to present a case for fixed exchange rates (gold standard and other interesting variations) anchored in Islamic finance. The message of this book is that the gold standard could provide a solution for addressing international financial instability if and only if it is anchored in 100% reserve banking, which is an essential pillar of Islamic finance. The book should appeal to academics, university courses on Islamic finance, international finance, history of the international payments system and proposals for its reform at the undergraduate and graduate levels, to policymakers, financial analysts, bankers, financial regulators and international financial institutions.

"Analyzing the origins of conflicts and wars in the Persian Gulf, this study assesses the conflicts' shared trajectories and fallouts. Although the origins of conflicts are varied (sectarian, religious, ethnic, and tribal, over territory and over resources), as conflicts evolve, the quest for "revenge" and the desire to settle old scores is only one, apparent fuel, which belies a more essential one. The evolution of most conflicts can, over time, be traced to a single source--the struggle for power and control over resources. Hossein Askari argues that reconciliation will require the simultaneous adoption of foundational political, social, and economic reforms by the countries in the region, as well as the cooperation of the global powers, especially the United States, to end support of dictators and reduce the human costs of aggression. The creation of a just society with freedom and equal opportunities for all is a necessary precondition if peace and prosperity are to flourish"--

1 Introduction and Overview 1. - 2 A Glance at Recent Conflicts and Wars 23. - 3 Estimating the Price of Conflicts and Wars 49. - 4 The Seeds of Conflict and War-the Persian Gulf 85. - 5 The Global Costs of Three Wars in the Persian Gulf 119. - 6 How Conflicts and Wars Can Be Ended 147

This is the second of three related, empirically based studies examining the broad range of issues raised by the use of economic sanctions. This volume provides a detailed examination of the impact of U.S. economic sanctions on China, Cuba, and Iran as well as the impact on the United States itself.||Ashari, Forrer, Teegen, and Yang analyze whether or not these case studies in economic sanctions had been successful by measuring their historical impact and modeling their effectiveness. This book will be of particular interest to scholars, students, researchers, and the public policy community i

Petroleum revenues, which theoretically should have supported economic prosperity, have in practice fueled regional conflicts, supported corruption, [and] created economic injustice. …