Purpose – Poverty is a plague which has continental manifestation, but its impact is heavily felt in several Muslim majority nations (MMNs), where unemployment, illiteracy, chronic diseases, food shortage, sectarian wars and wave of militancy are surging at alarming rates. The purpose of this paper is to develop a faith-based model (FBM) to complement the conventional poverty reduction models. Experiences have shown that FBMs find more acceptability among Muslim nations because they have theoretical and theological underpinnings from the Qur’an and Hadith, as opposed to conventional models that are often viewed with suspicion, sequel to Islamic revivalism. Design/methodology/approach – This research adopts a qualitative research method relying on secondary data/information sourced from CIA Factbook, previous scholarly works, working papers, case studies and relevant internet resources. In line with methodological approach of qualitative research, the secondary data/information were subjected to content and thematic analyses (CTA) from which facts, figures and presumptions were derived to support the FBM. Findings – The paper justified the plausibility of integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR), Waqf system (WS) and Zakat system (TZS) as FBM for poverty reduction, enterprise development and economic empowerment in MMNs. Research limitations/implications – The gap left behind by the paper is for future researchers to carry out an empirical investigation on the viability or otherwise of the FBM. This could include the governance structure, operational modalities and regulatory frameworks that would enhance the functioning of the FBM. Practical implications – FBM framework is practically a corporate social investment (CSI), which would be heavily funded by Zakat payers, CSR donations and Waqf. The funds would be deployed to poverty reduction in a number of ways ranging from training, micro-credit support for SMEs, apprenticeships, setting up technology business incubation centres, cluster development, infrastructural development in industrial parks, as well as providing welfare support services to the poor, marginalised communities and other economically disadvantaged groups. Originality/value – The theoretical research is a contribution to theory and practice of CSR in the field of management and Islamic economics. It has developed a FBM for adoption by MMNs who are hesitant in adopting western model for fear of compromising their ethical values.
Purpose – This paper aims to examine the prospect of utilising corporate social responsibility and entrepreneurship (CSRE) as antidotes for mitigating the incidences of poverty, insecurity and underdevelopment in Nigeria. The paper derives its theoretical foundation from the stakeholder, instrumental and legitimacy theories, which all justify the use of CSRE for actualisation of Triple Bottom Line (i.e. the social, economic and environmental concerns of business organisations). Design/methodology/approach – The study used the quantitative research method relying on the use of secondary data published by institutional bodies. The quantitative method entail a systematic extraction of reliable data on corporate social responsibility (CSR), insecurity, poverty and development from the publications of Office of the Millennium Development Goals in Nigeria, CLEEN Foundation, National Bureau of Statistics and Central Bank of Nigeria, respectively. For missing years, the authors improvised using projections as well as proxies. The extracted data, which spanned a period of 13 years, were subjected to econometric tests using SPSS, on the basis of which informed conclusions were drawn. Findings – The first econometric result indicates a negative relationship between gross domestic product and poverty. The second result indicates that there is a positive significant relationship between gross domestic product and total crime rate. The third result indicates that there exists a positive relationship between gross domestic product and unemployment rate. The fourth result indicates that there is a negative relationship between gross domestic product and industrial growth rate. The last result indicates that there is a significant positive relationship between gross domestic product and CSR. Research limitations/implications – The results of this research have macro-level application, hence the outcomes cannot be narrowed to any particular sector of the economy. A micro-level analysis across diverse sectors of the economy is recommended in future studies. The implication of this empirical research is that policymakers in the Nigerian private sector need to reinvent their CSR programmes as mechanisms for poverty eradication, entrepreneurship development (CSRE), dousing tension of restive youth, empowerment/support for security agencies for better crime prevention and for impacting on sustainable development. Practical implications – In the face of dwindling financial resources in the treasury of governments, the reinvention of CSRE by private sector organisations as complementary mechanisms for combating social problems is becoming acceptable in both developed and developing nations. This paper therefore boldly recommends that policymakers reinvent CSRE as development mechanisms through a sound partnership between government, advocacy groups and business corporations in Nigeria. Social implications – The paper explicates that CSR can indeed be reinvented by corporations as part of their social concerns to their operating environment instead of leaving all social problems to governments. Originality/value – The research lends credence to stakeholder, instrumental and legitimacy theories of CSR. It also justifies the plausibility of CSRE, a novel concept being promoted in this research.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the appropriateness of faith‐based model (FBM) as a veritable policy response to the issue of poverty alleviation and actualisation of the millennium development goals (MDGs) in Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachThe paper combined qualitative and quantitative date to validate the appropriateness of FBM, to tackling poverty issues in Nigeria. The first section presents a brief introduction on poverty issue in Nigeria. The second section outlines the theoretical and methological approaches adopted in the paper. The third section casts a cursory look at the conceptualisation of poverty in the literature. The fourth section explores poverty‐eradication efforts in Nigeria. The fifth section highlights the failure of previous poverty reduction strategies (PRS) in Nigeria. The sixth section presents a background to MDGs. The seventh section show‐cases application of Islamic economics models (faith‐based model and business system model (BSM)) to MDGs. The eighth section is devoted to data projections, analysis and interpretation. The final section concludes with policy prescriptions.FindingsOn the basis of projection which is hinged on Shari'ah assumptions (minimum zakatable wealth and 2.5 per cent Zakat rate), the paper shows that Zakat and Sadaqat collections from year 2009 to 2015 would amount to N357,038 billions and N31 billion, respectively. These funds would go a long way in helping to alleviate poverty and actualisation of MDGs in Nigeria.Practical implicationsThe faith‐based poverty reduction strategy enriched by BSM as conceptualised in this study can be used to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger (MDG 1), achieve universal primary education (MDG 2), promote gender equality and empower women (MDG 3), reduce child mortality (MDG 4), improve maternal health (MDG 5), combat, HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases (MDGs 6), ensure environmental sustainability (MDG 7) and develop a global partnership for development (MDG 8).Originality/valueThe results of this paper support the Islamic economics view that Zakat and Sadaqat are viable fiscal mechanisms for poverty alleviation where adopted. The FBM as conceptualised in this paper would therefore complement and pose a positive challenge to contemporary PRS in use in many poverty‐ridden nations where economic indicators have justified prevalence of poverty, despite the various PRS put in place by policy makers.
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