The potential effect of financial variables on the level of investment is among the key issues in contemporary financial economics. Some researchers have claimed that there is an inherent risk in the Islamic profit‐and‐loss sharing scheme that replaces the western fixed‐interest rate system. This paper argues that such concerns are baseless. In an Islamic framework, equity capital (i.e., strong financial position) and the profit‐sharing ratio are primary determinants of investment. It is shown that both factors could enhance the firm's business reputation and its investment activities. The paper, in so doing, constructs a two‐period equilibrium model of profit‐sharing contracts. An optimal solution for the investment function is derived for the banking firm. Besides equity capital and the profit‐sharing ratio, other relevant determinants of investment are also considered, including depreciation and expected inflation. Moreover, unlike most previous research in this area, the resultant investment (and profitsharing ratio) functions are subjected to empirical testing using data from a representative Islamic bank.

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Does the institutional environment affect the causal relationship between banking development and economic growth? In the theoretical section of this paper, we develop an endogenous growth model where the institutional environment is captured through two indicators: judicial system efficiency and easiness of informal trade. We show that an improvement in the institutional environment has two effects. First, it intensifies the causality direction from banking to economic growth through a reduction in defaulting loans. Second, it reduces the interest rate spread. In the empirical section of the paper, we find bidirectional causality when analyzing 22 Middle Eastern and North African countries over the period 1984-2004. The first causality, which runs from banking development to economic growth, is more intense in countries with more developed institutional environment. The second causality runs from economic growth to banking and indicates that a more developed economy has a more developed banking system.