The Impact of the Islamic System on Economic and Social Factors: A Macroeconomic Uncertainty Context
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
Dear Authors
Your English is now better and the amendments are important, but some corrections and careful proofreading are still necessary. A few examples:
Row 28: Supposing that you mean Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905), don't call him Researcher, but enlighten the reader about his central role in early Islamic modernism.
Row 52: Call KSA simply Saudi Arabia.
Row 192: Instead of et write and.
References: Check that all references are referred to in the text and vice versa. Write journal names and book titles in italics. Delete Book, instead, write publisher details. Check also that the writer names are in order surname, forename.
Rows 453-4: The reference is misplaced.
Rows 458-461: Separate the citations by using 2019a and 2010b, and recall this also in the text.
Rows 467-8: Use lower case letters.
Rows 502-3: The reference is misplaced.
Rows 465-6: The reference is misplaced.
Author Response
Response to Reviewer 1 Comments
Dear Professor ,
You find bellow the comments and their responses of the following paper :
Title : Impact of Islamic System on economic and social factors: A Macroeconomic uncertainty context
Journal : Economies
Manuscript ID : economies-2656742
Point 1 : Row 28: Supposing that you mean Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905), don't call him Researcher, but enlighten the reader about his central role in early Islamic modernism.
Response 1 : We have corrected the nomination of the author and we have replace theologian instead reseacher and we have present him. See line 31 to 34 in red color.
Point 2 : Row 52: Call KSA simply Saudi Arabia.
Response 2 : We have corrected KSA. See line 58 in red color.
Point 3 : Row 192: Instead of et write and.
Response 3 : We have corrected. Line 216 in red color.
Point 4 : References: Check that all references are referred to in the text and vice versa. Write journal names and book titles in italics. Delete Book, instead, write publisher details. Check also that the writer names are in order surname, forename.
Response 4 : we are checked the reference and we have corrected and added some references. See reference in red and green color.
Point 5 : Rows 453-4: The reference is misplaced.
Response 5 : See line 486 in red color in references.
Point 6 : Rows 458-461: Separate the citations by using 2019a and 2010b, and recall this also in the text.
Response 6 : We have correted theses references and the main text. See in references line 523 and 525 in red color and in main text Line 45 and 397.
Point 7 : Rows 467-8: Use lower case letters.
Response 7 : We have used lower letters. See line 537.
Point 8 : Rows 502-3: The reference is misplaced.
Response 8 : Reference line 597 in red color.
Point 9 : Rows 465-6: The reference is misplaced.
Response 9 : See line 534 in red color in references.
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
Dear authors,
Thank you for the opportunity to review the manuscript "Effects of Islamicity and Democracy on Uncertainty, Corruption and Economic Growth in MENA Countries." The manuscript presents significant improvements compared to the first version. I would like to make some recommendations for improving the manuscript's quality so it can be published.
The introduction is still confusing. The authors state that "our contribution lies in analyzing the effects of an ideal Islamic system on the economic cycle and democratic phenomena" but then state that "the study aims to evaluate the practical implementation of theoretical Islamic practices in a democratic political environment and the effects of these practices in uncertainty, corruption, the informal economy, and economic growth". This lack of consistency and cohesion of purpose confuses the reader. Several analyses are presented in the results without prior contextualization.
The article would gain in readability and reach a greater audience and impact by inserting research questions (hypotheses) in the literature review section. Authors must provide supporting literature that supports each hypothesis tested in the model. Authors must present empirical results only for the hypotheses to be tested. This organization will help with understanding the text, as well as assisting authors in rewriting the introduction.
There is a critical point in this article that the authors should review. According to the authors, "if a theoretical Islamic system is to be applied in practice, it must be accompanied by a democratic regime to mitigate uncertainty effectively, the informal economy and corruption and contribute to economic growth." These results suggest that the problem of uncertainty, informal economy, corruption, and economic stagnation (or degrowth) is associated with the democratic regime. Therefore, it may be more prudent to test the relationship between the Islamic system and democratic regime to the extent that it avoids a delicate and very controversial discussion around Islamicity and self-interested behaviors and their negative externalities. I would happily see the relationship between Islamicity and the democratic system. Next, the democratic system could be related to uncertainty, the informal economy, corruption, and its externalities for economic growth.
At this point, the authors need to explore a little more the literature analyzes the effects of the democratic system on the economy. Firstly, it is necessary to correct the statement in line 171: "Few studies have discussed the effect of democratic system on the economy." Please analyze studies such as:
• The economic effects of democratic participation
• The effects of democracy on economic growth and inequality: A review.
• Democracy and economic growth: A literature review.
In line 8, the authors mention a new social index to measure the degree of Islamicity in each country. I expected to see this index in the results. Did I miss something here?
In line 241, the authors declare that "the ethical factor is Islamicity (ISL), which uses the index constructed by Askari (2015) and published by the Islamicity Foundation." Based on the model input data (2000-2018), I conclude that the authors used the methodology and not the Askari (2015) index. Briefly describing the methodology used to construct the index is essential in this case.
Comments on the Quality of English Language
English is fine.
Author Response
Response to Reviewer 2 Comments
Dear Professor ,
You find bellow the comments and their responses of the following paper :
Title : Impact of Islamic System on economic and social factors: A Macroeconomic uncertainty context
Journal : Economies
Manuscript ID : economies-2656742
Point 1 The introduction is still confusing. The authors state that "our contribution lies in analyzing the effects of an ideal Islamic system on the economic cycle and democratic phenomena" but then state that "the study aims to evaluate the practical implementation of theoretical Islamic practices in a democratic political environment and the effects of these practices in uncertainty, corruption, the informal economy, and economic growth". This lack of consistency and cohesion of purpose confuses the reader. Several analyses are presented in the results without prior contextualization.
Response 1 : We have revised our introduction and especially our objective and we have distinguished between our objective ( line 70 to 78) and the reason of sample choose. So, the paragraph is reconstructed to became showing the description and the prove of our sample and the finality of our study and not the objective. See line 82 to 87 in blue color.
Point 2 : The article would gain in readability and reach a greater audience and impact by inserting research questions (hypotheses) in the literature review section. Authors must provide supporting literature that supports each hypothesis tested in the model. Authors must present empirical results only for the hypotheses to be tested. This organization will help with understanding the text, as well as assisting authors in rewriting the introduction.
Response 2 : To this end, we have established and deducted four hypothesis accordingly to literature review. See line 114 to 116 & line 154 to 156 & line 187 to 189 & line 243 to 245 in blue color. Then; we have affirmed and infirmed the hypothesis in summary : line 479 to 482 in blue color.
Point 3 : I would happily see the relationship between Islamicity and the democratic system. Next, the democratic system could be related to uncertainty, the informal economy, corruption, and its externalities for economic growth.
At this point, the authors need to explore a little more the literature analyzes the effects of the democratic system on the economy. Firstly, it is necessary to correct the statement in line 171: "Few studies have discussed the effect of democratic system on the economy." Please analyze studies such as:
- The economic effects of democratic participation
- The effects of democracy on economic growth and inequality: A review.
- Democracy and economic growth: A literature review.
Response 3 : We have added some recent study describing the relationship between democracy, Islamicity and economic growth and inequality and sustainable development. See line 201 to 207 & line 221 to 226 in blue color. In addition, have changed the expression of line 171. See line 192 to 193 in blue color.
Then, we have actualized the reference . See references in blue color : line 532 & 569 & 601.
Point 4 : In line 8, the authors mention a new social index to measure the degree of Islamicity in each country. I expected to see this index in the results. Did I miss something here?
Response 4 : we have not measured the social index of islamicity, we have used it to test its effect on democracy…See line 11 in blue color.
Point 5 : In line 241, the authors declare that "the ethical factor is Islamicity (ISL), which uses the index constructed by Askari (2015) and published by the Islamicity Foundation." Based on the model input data (2000-2018), I conclude that the authors used the methodology and not the Askari (2015) index. Briefly describing the methodology used to construct the index is essential in this case.
Response 5 : We have explained the Islamic index methodology and we have mentioned that this index has been used from the database of Islamic foundation. See line 295 to 300 in blue color.
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
This article examines the impact of Islamic economic and social institutions in a democratic context on the causal relationships between uncertainty, the informal economy, corruption, and economic growth.
This research is a significant topic. It uses religion and democracy as a way to explore the causal relationship. It is acceptable to introduce models into the research method and the calculation and analysis process. However, in this article, many places could be more explicit, causing readers to have more doubts. Suggested references are provided below:
The title and the description of the article content are not appropriate. I suggest the author re-examine the title.
Research limitations suggest that the author needs to delineate some limits.
The article mentioned mainly five countries in the Middle East and North Africa. It is necessary to note why these five countries were chosen to describe. Do the governments of these countries have a high proportion of support for Islam?
The period studied in this study was from 2000 to 2018. But it has been a while since now, and the countries are changing (even starting wars). Is this study still in line with the current conditions of each country?
In the Literature review, between uncertainty, informal economy, corruption, and economic growth, it is necessary to add support from the literature of the past five years. Articles that are highly relevant to this article must be added. Some references in some chapters need to be updated and relevant.
In addition, it is not only Islam that has been discussed in terms of religion and democratic countries. There are also other cases of economies undergoing democratic transformation under different religious systems. It is recommended that these be included in the discussion.
In the research method, the impact of the causal relationship between uncertainty, informal economy, corruption, and economic growth is explored. Why this study chooses to use the economic model of the VAR model requires more in-depth literature support and persuasion.
Why choose? And how to choose the seven variables (TCGBP, ISL, CORUP, DEMO, INFORMEL, and UNC). The article needs a basis and a description of the selection process.
In conclusion, although the variables indicate that when Islam increases, democracy will also increase. Islam without democracy cannot solve related problems (informal economy and corruption, and cannot create economic growth). This is the same point as Afzali, but it does not necessarily prove that Islamic possession has a sufficient influence coefficient because the data of this study uses the data values of five countries, which is not a pure single value (and the influence coefficients of each country are not excluded). Therefore, it is recommended that this study adopt an objective conclusion statement.
Comments on the Quality of English Language
Moderate editing of English language required
Author Response
Response to Reviewer 2 Comments
Dear Professor ,
You find bellow the comments and their responses of the following paper :
Title : Impact of Islamic System on economic and social factors: A Macroeconomic uncertainty context
Journal : Economies
Manuscript ID : economies-2656742
Point 1 : The title and the description of the article content are not appropriate. I suggest the author re-examine the title.
Response 1 : The title is examined and it is not the same. See title in Main text in green color and not the title in the system.
Point 2 : Research limitations suggest that the author needs to delineate some limits.
Response 2 : I have added some limits in conclusion . See line 510 to 513 in green color.
Point 3 : The article mentioned mainly five countries in the Middle East and North Africa. It is necessary to note why these five countries were chosen to describe. Do the governments of these countries have a high proportion of support for Islam?
Response 3 : We have explain the reason of choose of our sample as Islamic countries which traverse a transmission period of revolution and democracy. See line 82 to 87 in blue color and line 279 to 282 in green color.
Point 4 : The period studied in this study was from 2000 to 2018. But it has been a while since now, and the countries are changing (even starting wars). Is this study still in line with the current conditions of each country?
Response 4 : To take into account the political evolution we must include other variables as political stability, social crisis, the quality of peace in the world, Food Security Crisis,…Our aim is to test the effect of a such Islamic regime moderate with democracy on economy and not to test the stability. In addition, Data of 2022 and 2023 in not available in Database.
This can be a good idea of future researches on effect of these wars of Ukraine and Gazza on peace of the world and the role of Islamicity in the context for example.
Point 5 : In the Literature review, between uncertainty, informal economy, corruption, and economic growth, it is necessary to add support from the literature of the past five years. Articles that are highly relevant to this article must be added. Some references in some chapters need to be updated and relevant.
Response 5 : We have added some recent literature. See line 201 to 208 & line 221 to 226 in blue color.Then, we have actualized the reference in blue color.
Point 6 : In addition, it is not only Islam that has been discussed in terms of religion and democratic countries. There are also other cases of economies undergoing democratic transformation under different religious systems. It is recommended that these be included in the discussion.
Response 6 : We have discussed of all religion and we have taken Islam as an example in the paper. We have interpret the effect only of Islamicity. We have mentioned this in conculsion. Line 514 in green color.
Point 7 : In the research method, the impact of the causal relationship between uncertainty, informal economy, corruption, and economic growth is explored. Why this study chooses to use the economic model of the VAR model requires more in-depth literature support and persuasion.
Response 7 : We have explain our choose of VAR model and we have proven this by many authors. See line 252 to 265 in green color. In addition, we have actualized the reference. See references in green color.
Point 8 : Why choose? And how to choose the seven variables (TCGBP, ISL, CORUP, DEMO, INFORMEL, and UNC). The article needs a basis and a description of the selection process.
Response 8 : We have added a paragraph describing the process of variable selection. See line 287 to 294 in green color.
Point 9 : In conclusion, although the variables indicate that when Islam increases, democracy will also increase. Islam without democracy cannot solve related problems (informal economy and corruption, and cannot create economic growth). This is the same point as Afzali, but it does not necessarily prove that Islamic possession has a sufficient influence coefficient because the data of this study uses the data values of five countries, which is not a pure single value (and the influence coefficients of each country are not excluded). Therefore, it is recommended that this study adopt an objective conclusion statement.
Response 9 : We have taken into account our context in interpretation and we have rectified by basing on the characteristics of our sample such The revolutionary and instability of democratic process. See line 471 to 472 in green color. Line 486 to 488. Line 503, line 506 to 509 in green color.
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
This version of the manuscript presents significant improvements. Before publication, I ask your attention to the following points:
Minor mistakes:
Thank you for sending the improved manuscript. I believe the paper is much better now. Below are some points to be corrected before publication.
Observer that t and qc must be explained in (30)
Check notations, in (31) qc is given as N
Please change (32) to function of the arithmetic mean of 𝑰𝒒
Comments on the Quality of English Language
English is fine
Author Response
Dear Professor
We have corrected mistakes of statistics values and language. In addition, we have revised all references and actualizing the main text by adding all the missing references.
Thank you.
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
This research is now much more complete. It has gone through the last suggestions and revisions (title, supplement limitations, etc.) and completed the questions' responses.
Comments on the Quality of English Language
Moderate editing of English language required
Author Response
Dear professor
We have edited the main text by revising all paragraphs. In addition, we have revised the references in main text and adding the missing references in red color.
Thank you
