Includes bibliographical references.

Introduction / William A. Barnett, Fredj Jawadi -- Divisia monetary aggregates for the GCC countries / Ryadh M. Alkhareif, William A. Barnett -- Euro zone bond market and economic growth : evidence from a time series analysis / Iuliana Matei -- International portfolio choice : the case of market competition / Makram Bellalah, Sonia Ben Said -- Can the wealth-to-income ratio be a useful predictor in alternative finance? : evidence from the housing risk premium / Manuel J. Rocha Armada, Ricardo M. Sousa -- The challenges of the mutual financial sphere : statutes to the test development / Michel Roux -- The origins of mutualist finance / Philippe Naszályi -- Can cooperative banking become an alternative to capitalist finance? / Daniel Bachet -- Alternative financial decision principles : theoretical foundations of Islamic banks' capital structure / Kaouther Toumi, Waël Louhichi, Jean-Laurent Viviani -- Islamic finance : an alternative finance or an antidote to the crisis of capitalism? / Geneviève Causse -- The emergence of solidarity employee savings in France / Aude d'Andria -- Mood-misattribution effect on energy finance : a biorhythm approach / Marc Joëts -- Is microcredit a real innovation? / Laurence Attuel-Mendès -- Estimation of non-gaussian returns : the hedge funds case / Naceur Naguez, Jean-Luc Prigent -- Hedge funds and dynamic risk modeling / Wafa Kammoun Masmoudi -- Evaluation of hedge fund returns value at risk using GARCH models / Sabrina Khanniche.

Since the global financial crisis began in 2008-2009, there has been a strong decline in financial markets and investment, and significant economic recession for most developed and emerging economies. Accordingly, new forms of alternative finance, management, control, accounting, trading and investment are being sought. Alternative finance presents challenges intended to stimulate investment and promote economic growth and development, as well as provide a return on investment during turbulent times. This volume aims to provide the reader with a comprehensive understanding of alternative finance in its various forms. It addresses the impact of the financial crisis and the failure of monetary and financial institutions to manage financial markets and handle the recent downturn. It also presents and discusses new research findings associated with alternative forms of investment and finance, and their economic and political implications.