Malta’s strong economic performance over the recent decade contrasted with lacklustre social development and poor environmental and political progress, according to a recent study.

From 2012 to 2021, Malta’s economy grew “rapidly”, with gross domestic product (GDP) growth the second-highest in the EU and unemployment the second-lowest in the bloc.

But around a third of the adult population – more than double the EU average – persistently said they face environmental issues such as smoke, dust, unpleasant smells or polluted water.

Meanwhile, construction continued unabated, leading to “major negative social and environmental impacts”, the study’s author, economics professor Lino Briguglio, argues.

And between poorly functioning regulators and the political dominance enjoyed by the Labour Party over the last decade, while there had been some signs of improvement, “the situation did not seem to improve, and may be worsening”, Briguglio says.

The University of Malta professor develops his arguments in a study on ‘The sustainable development implications of major economic changes in Malta between 2012 and 2021’, published in Malta Chamber of Scientists journal Xjenza.

Drawing on existing publicly available data, Briguglio discusses Malta’s economic performance over the decade, comparing it to other EU states with a view to sustainable development.

“Malta has done very well economically, less well in terms of social development and not well at all in terms of environmental and political governance,” he writes.

“The indicators presented beg the question as to whether Malta was following the path of sustainable development... Malta’s economic success, during the decade under study, was accompanied by weak political and environmental governance.”

Briguglio notes that GDP – which measures the monetary value of all goods and services produced by a country and is often seen as a marker of economic success – grew by around six per cent per year during the decade covered by the study.

And the country continued to attract “considerable” foreign investment despite its small market and lack of natural resources, benefitting from its EU membership, location, favourable tax regime, and English-speaking workforce.

Meanwhile, the rate of poverty remained lower than the EU average and life expectancy was the highest in the EU, averaging 83 years. But the data also reveals quality-of-life issues, Briguglio suggests.

While life expectancy remained high, there was also a “worrying tendency” towards obesity, with the Maltese the most obese in Europe.

Malta has done very well economically, less well in social development and not well at all in environmental and political governance

“Other worrying tendencies in Malta in this regard are the relatively high prevalence of diabetes and high blood pressure, associated with eating habits and the loss of the Mediterranean diet.”

The university professor also warns of “major challenges” in education, citing a high rate of early school-leavers.

But the environment is where Briguglio thinks the country needs to see the most improvement.

Calling the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) “practically toothless” and charging the Planning Authority with “doing exactly the opposite” of its mission to make the country a more “pleasant and desirable place to live”, Briguglio thinks Malta has not performed well at all in terms of the environment.

Describing the country’s environmental performance as “dismal”, he suggests “weak environmental governance” is to blame, pointing to a lack of importance assigned to recycling, for example.

And he attributes much of the environmental degradation to the construction industry, which he describes as “clashing with the quest for sustainable development”.

Calling the industry “very weakly regulated” and charged with creating air and noise pollution and “destabilising whole neighbourhoods”, the professor says the “mushrooming building activity has led to depletion of environmental assets, which will be lost forever”.

University of Malta professor Lino Briguglio.

But construction is not the only industry in the firing line. Tourism – despite its strong economic performance – is attributed to “social discomfort in high tourist-density localities” and further environmental issues.

Meanwhile, political governance – important for the regulation of such industries – remains precarious although showing signs of improvement, evidenced by Malta’s removal from the FATF grey list, for example, Briguglio thinks.

“There seems to be better checks and balances relating to corruption, but... the large parliamentary majority enjoyed by one political party would enable the government, if it wants to, to appoint accommodating persons in charge of the regulatory institutions.

“Optimistically, Malta’s membership in the European Union... should dissuade maladministration excesses and restrain the country from being an ‘elective dictatorship’.”

When contacted, Briguglio told Times of Malta that more recent data showed the country continued to score badly on governance indicators, which he said were deteriorating, despite Malta scoring in the top quarter of countries worldwide.