ECONOMIC INTEGRATION AMONG D-8 MUSLIM COUNTRIES: PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES

The D-8 (Developing Eight) organisation was officially formed in 1997 and has Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey as full members. The D-8 economies encompass nearly 62% of the Muslim population or about 1.17 billion people globally. The economic, cultural, social, political and geographical diversity that exists amongst the D-8 member countries differs radically from other Muslim or regional blocks. Furthermore, D-8 member countries are developing economies that do not solely rely on oil, ancient civilizations, or roles as historical powerhouses, but their populations aspire to be better educated, scientifically more advanced, have higher incomes and improved human rights. It is imperative to study the implications of these developments for cultural identity and life quality. This book studies the contemporary socio-economic developments and challenges faced by D-8 countries. It explores questions on the socio-economic and political formation, sustainability, economic participation, and the vitality of the D-8 member countries. It deepens our understanding of recent global economic systems and governance, and suggests areas for future research and publications.

Professor Ahmed Khalid earned his PhD in economics from Johns Hopkins University, USA. He joined Universiti Brunei Darussalam in May 2015 as a Professor of Economics. He is currently Dean of School of Business and Economics (UBDSBE). Previously, he worked at the Bond Business School as Professor of Economics and Finance since 2001. He also worked at the National University of Singapore (NUS) from 1992–2000. Professor Khalid has worked with the World Bank (visiting Consultant); the Planning Ministry of Pakistan (Advisor to the Minister) and Washington and Lee University (visiting Scholar). His visiting academic appointments include Nanyang Technology University, Singapore; Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), and Pakistan; and Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE). He has also worked as a consultant for leading institutions in finance and economics including the Economic Research Institute for East Asia and ASEAN (ERIA), Limberg Institute of Financial Economic (LIFE), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), CitiGroup, Haans Seidel Foundation and the UNDP.

Dr R James Ferguson is an Assistant Professor in International Relations at the Faculty of Society & Design, Bond University. His research and teaching areas include international relations, strategic studies, regionalism, and globalisation. He is the Director of the Centre for East-West Cultural and Economic Studies and Assistant Professor of International Relations within the Faculty of Society and Design at Bond University. He conducts research and publishes in the areas of Asian, Eurasian, European and Australasian International Relations, Chinese cultural systems, human and comprehensive security, Islamic governance, environmental politics, and regional organisations. Recent work has included an emphasis on international regimes, China's view of regional and global order, and new patterns of global governance. He has been a member of the International Studies Association (ISA), the refereed International Institute for Strategic Studies (the IISS, London), the International Institute of Development Studies (IIDS) and for several years served as a Council member of the Australian Institute of International Affairs (Queensland). He regularly presents at conferences in Southeast Asia, China, Japan, India, Europe and Australia. He has received grants and fellowships from a number of sources including the Australian Research Council, Ford-IDSS, the Visiting Researchers Program (Walailak University, Thailand), plus grants and donations for research in the Centre for East-West Cultural and Economic Studies and the Global Development Forum.

Professor Niaz Asadullah received his Doctorate degree in Economics from Oxford University in 2005. Before coming to Malaysia, he taught economics at Reading University, UK, for seven years. He also held visiting positions at Harvard, Oxford, Manchester, Kent, Dhaka, BRAC, Chulalongkorn and Mindanao State Universities. At the University of Malaya, he additionally served as the Deputy Director of the Centre for Poverty and Development Studies (CPDS) from 2014–2016. His research relates to poverty, inequality, well-being, education, labor market, skills formation and gender issues with a focus on South/East Asia and Islamic countries. His work has been supported by international grants such as the Australian Development Research Award Scheme, Leverhulme Trust (UK), International Growth Centre (IGC), the DFID (UK), Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), South Asian Network of Economic Research Institutes, Global Education Commission, UNU-WIDER, and the World Bank. He has also consulted for Asian Productivity Organization (APO), BRAC, Oxford Policy Management, BAPPENAS (Government of Indonesia), UN-ESCAP, the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO).