Economic migration in contemporary Malta : experiences of Maltese nationals

Abstract

People have been leaving their country of origin to settle abroad since the dawn of humanity. This has intensified after 1945, and again from the mid-1980s. Emigration is considered as one of the major elements leading to global change. States that oppose immigration, also oppose pluralism, which they consider as a menace to ‘national unity’ and ‘identity’. Nevertheless, the movement of people to other countries does not always lead to heterogeneity. For example, people who moved from Britain to Australia in the 19th and early 20th century share racial, cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Moreover, in some cases, the integration of immigrants in host societies is not a difficult process; as with the movement of Western Europeans to North America (Castles & Miller, 2003). It is being forecasted that the Earth’s population will rise to 9.7 billion by 2050. This increase carries with it a number of ramifications. These include an increase in the number of people forming part of the middle class, an unusual temporary increase in the number of teens, and more migration. Therefore, ‘population dynamics’ are shaped by migration. Notwithstanding, the fact that migration poses a number of challenges to the receiving countries, it can also lead to economic growth (UN Development Report, 2016, p. 34). For example, Witton (2016) found that the Swedish economy in 2015 was boosted by immigration (UN Development Report, 2016). According to the World Bank (2019), during the last 40 to 60 years, the number of migrants worldwide remained fixed, at 2.5 to 3.5% ; but in the last 40 years, there was a proliferation of immigrants in Western and Eastern Europe. In high-income countries, migrants are regularly held responsible for the increase in the unemployment rate and for the reduction in the welfare assistance. Conversely, countries of migrant departure may be concerned because highly skilled and well-educated people are leaving their home country, possibly never to return. From a local context if we look at the 20th and 21st century the Maltese islands have changed dramatically from a country of out-migration to a country of net in-migration. In my research, I will focus mainly on the impact of economic migration on the Maltese islands and the experiences of Maltese nationals.