Poverty Alleviation in Bosnia And Herzegovina: An Islamic Approach

Abstract

Poverty alleviation is a problem that faces every country in the world, especially underdeveloped and developing countries. In particular, more than half population is under the risk of poverty and social exclusion in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H in further text). Furthermore, unemployed people, youth, women and old people are particularly jeopardized. There are a lot of reasons for this situation: high level of unemployment, low level of education, underdeveloped and inefficient health system, aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995, high level of corruption, slow reforms implementation (economic, legal and political), etc. Therefore this paper is going to give an overview of the state of poverty in B&H, even so it suggests the way it can be alleviated or reduced, leading to principles of Islamic economy and finance. Moreover, descriptive method of research will be used. Authors concluded that if Islamic approaches would be implemented holistically, it would be possible to alleviate poverty to a satisfactory level. The results of research can help government decision makers in formulating poverty alleviation strategies and politics.