Methods & Sources

Four kinds of evidence

Descriptive comparison

Shows observed patterns in published aggregates; it does not identify a cause.

Model-based evidence

Estimates a conditional association after specified adjustments; the design and uncertainty still matter.

Institutional classification

Describes a verified rule or arrangement for a stated period and scope.

Interpretive argument

Connects evidence to political-economy concepts; it is reasoned interpretation, not a measured variable.

Unavailable observations are shown as “Not available”. Public views contain aggregates rather than underlying bank or holder records.

Plain-language glossary

Political economy

The study of how ownership, institutions, law and power shape economic outcomes.

Relations of capital

The social arrangements through which assets are owned, decisions are controlled, risks and gains are distributed, and money is directed towards particular activities.

Financialisation

A growing orientation of institutions, firms or economies towards financial assets, revenues, claims and priorities.

FIRE exposure

Here, financing reported for financial institutions, insurance, real estate and consumer-durable activities. It is a broad allocation proxy, not a judgement about every underlying financing claim.

Institutional differentiation

A real difference in legal form, governance, norms or organisational practice between institutions.

Accumulation

The process through which surplus is retained, reinvested and expanded.

Circulation

The movement of money, claims and surplus through institutions, markets and sectors.

Productive allocation

Financing directed towards capabilities such as production, technology, infrastructure and employment rather than financial claims alone.

Risk-sharing

An arrangement in which returns and losses vary with the performance of an underlying activity rather than being fixed in advance.

Debt-like or debt-mimicking claims

Sharīʿah-compliant arrangements whose payment profile resembles a fixed debt claim even when their legal form differs.

Maqāṣid evaluation

Evaluation against the wider purposes of Islamic law and moral economy, including justice and human wellbeing, rather than formal compliance alone.

Multilevel model

A statistical model that recognises observations are grouped—for example, years within banks and banks within countries.

Fixed effects

A method that compares change within the same unit over time while accounting for stable differences between units.

Granger test

A test of whether earlier values of one series improve prediction of another. It does not establish philosophical or structural causation.