Modern emigration from Malta : a liability?

Abstract

In this paper we are limiting our arguments to what may be termed the 'indirect' contribution of emigration; we analyse the situation in terms of the population growth, the manpower and capital needs that emigration helped reduce. But no reference is made to the direct positive contribution of emigration on income and wages through the avoidance of wage-wars in the labour market, and the capital-labour relationships in production which emerged as a result of the wage structure that developed. These 'Positive contributions of emigration may be profitably discussed in a future paper. The 'present study first submits a brief comment on the skill of Maltese emigrants and constructs the behavioural characteristics of the "representative" emigrant. The contribution of emigration towards population control, reduction of unemployment and the saving-up of capital resources is then evaluated. A comment on the possibility of a skill/brain drain tin the eighties concludes the paper.