The unique
geographical features and positioning of Malta and a recent
over-indulgence in NPR’s
Planet Money has
motivated me to select the Maltese economy as the focus for
the non-technical portion of my ICEX experience. Of
course the economy of any nation is a broad and complex subject, so
as we arrive in the country I will be looking for opportunities to
narrow the scope to a more
specific story that I can explore in person. During
my preliminary research I
found a couple areas of interest to
use as a jumping off point in
the meantime.
Malta’s
inherent
limitations on space and natural resources makes
complete subsistence unrealistic,
so trade
is critical to the Maltese economy. Malta
satisfies
about three quarters of their
food and fresh water needs by import.
Likewise,
although they are in the process of updating
their electrical grid and attempting to meet
EU targets for renewable energy, they are still reliant
almost entirely on imported oil. Conversely, their
biggest sources of GDP are in
retail, service, and administrative industries.
In
recent years two of the most emphasized industries have
been online gaming (primarily gambling) and Information Communication
and Technology (ICT). Both industries are
well suited for the nation as
they more reliant on a
skilled workforce than physical resources and real estate. ICT has
become a major focus for Malta
for these reasons, and they’ve made significant political and
economic investments in an effort to make Malta a more digitally
advanced nation. Meanwhile online gambling has become a boon for
the Maltese economy,
flourishing in recent years due to the overall low cost of operating
out of Malta. However Malta’s success in this area is not
uncontroversial, as they face
accusations of having lax regulations allowing money laundering and
tax evasion. Furthermore, proposed EU tax reforms threaten to
increase taxation on all
digital companies in the EU and introduce new rules and regulations
that could jeopardize Malta’s position as the most appealing
destination for online gaming companies.
I
plan to try and learn more about both of these topics during my stay
in Malta. In particular I curious to see how many of the locals
perceive their own economy, and how
they have personally felt the effects of these influences within
their communities.
-
Kolton Yager
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