Challenges and opportunities of sustainable economic growth : the case of Malta

Abstract

Since its inception, the Central Bank of Malta has played a critical role in the country’s economic development. The increasing sophistication, complexity and the rapid rate of change that have characterised the islands’ economy over recent decades have surprised many observers. The Bank is committed to provide objective and in-depth analysis of these changes, to explain their underlying causes and to identify related issues. Our mission statement states quite clearly that the Bank has to “undertake economic and financial analysis and research […] and provide independent advice to Government on economic and financial policy issues.” This is the third detailed economic study that the Bank has published in less than two years. While Bank economists frequently publish research papers that deal with specific topics in a concise and technical manner, in 2015 senior management undertook to supplement these single topic papers with more holistic ad hoc publications addressing broader research questions. In the first two research publications,1 both of which were highly appreciated by observers of our economy, the focus was on documenting its rapid evolution and the resulting changes in macroeconomic relationships. Successfully answering a question, however, inevitably generates other questions.