https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/692 2026-11-09T22:03:33Z 2026-11-09T22:03:33Z Thake, Anne Marie https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/150853 2026-11-09T13:24:07Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Employability policy in Malta : challenges and opportunities in a small open economy Authors: Thake, Anne Marie Abstract: In the context of rapid global economic change, digital transformation, and shifting labour-market dynamics, employability has become a central priority in European Union policies on skills, inclusion, and competitiveness. However, policy responses often rely on a human capital model focused on individual skills acquisition, overlooking the role of institutional design and labour- market structures. This chapter addresses this gap through an in-depth analysis of employability in Malta, a small open economy characterised by high employment and low unemployment, yet facing structural challenges such as skills mismatches, dependence on migrant labour, informal work, and increasing digitalisation. Using a multidimensional framework aligned with EU concepts of skills eco systems, flexicurity, and lifelong learning, the chapter conceptualises employ ability as the outcome of interactions between human capital, social capital, individual capabilities, institutional and regulatory contexts. This framework is applied to examine service-sector dominance, labour shortages, rising labour migration, and the growth of non-standard employment. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative evidence, including statistical indicators, EU and national policy documents, and existing research, the analysis identifies key challenges: education–labour-market mismatches, weak school-to-work transitions, gender gaps in job quality, and limited protection for platform and informal workers. It also highlights opportunities linked to digitalisation, remote work, entre preneurship, and migration. The chapter proposes policy directions consistent with EU instruments, including individual learning, strengthened sectoral skills councils, improved validation of non-formal learning, targeted active labour market policies, and regulatory frameworks promoting fair work. Sustainable employability requires integrated governance that improves adaptability, job quality, and long-term resilience

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Thake, Anne Marie Romānova, Inna Grima, Simon https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/150849 2026-11-09T13:15:59Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Employability in the EU : challenges and opportunities : volume 118 Authors: Thake, Anne Marie; Romānova, Inna; Grima, Simon Abstract: Across Europe, employability has moved from the margins of labour market debate to the centre of economic, social, and institutional policy. Once treated as an individual attribute linked to education or job readiness, employability is now understood as a multidimensional and dynamic process shaped by skills, institutions, labour market structures, demographic trends, and public policy choices. This shift has been accelerated by structural transformations: digitalisation, demographic ageing, migration, green transition pressures, and repeated economic shocks.; Against this backdrop, this volume offers a timely and necessary contribution to the literature by examining employability not as a single policy prescription but as a context-dependent outcome of interactions between national and European systems.; What makes this book important is its comparative yet grounded approach. Rather than imposing a uniform analytical template or relying on abstract cross country indicators, each chapter provides an in-depth national analysis grounded in empirical evidence, institutional realities, and policy frameworks. Collectively, the chapters demonstrate that high employment rates, low unemployment, or core competencies do not automatically translate into sustainable employability. Instead, employability emerges as a function of how effectively education systems, labour market institutions, governance structures, and social policies con vert human capital into meaningful, stable, and adaptable employment outcomes.; A distinctive feature of this volume is its conceptual coherence combined with analytical diversity. Across the chapters, employability is treated as a lifelong, rela tional concept, shaped by individual capabilities and structural conditions. It draws on human capital theory, the capability approach, institutional economics, and skills-ecosystem perspectives. At the same time, each country chapter introduces analytical frameworks that enrich comparative understanding.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Manicaro, Christian https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/150787 2026-11-05T10:10:49Z 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Sectoral and regional volatility connectedness : the case of CDS spreads and equities Authors: Manicaro, Christian Abstract: This study analyses volatility connectedness at sectoral and regional level within and across the US, UK, EU and Japanese regions between the CDS and equity markets. Analysis is made on 32 sectors and 70 sub sectors within the regions under study with each having 2,479 observations, covering the period between 2008 until June 2017. The sample is divided between crisis and after crisis period and the novel connectedness index by Diebold Yilmaz ( is proposed. The domestic and regional analysis show that connectedness between the two asset classes is in general higher during the crisis period. Although the static Gaussian results for the regional analysis show low levels of connectedness across the board, the dynamic analysis show significant connectedness levels, with level s being predominantly higher during the crisis period, signifying contagion effects also at regional level between the two asset classes. When considering the dynamic volatility connectedness between the two asset classes, equity is the asset class which transmits volatility the most. In the US and EU connectedness between the two asset classes in most sectors is predominantly large during disturbed periods, particularly the 2009 crisis and the EU sovereign crisis.

2023-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/150739 2026-11-03T14:11:11Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: How machine learning based analysis of financial ratios can assist beginner investors Abstract: This study addresses the gap between the increase in retail investors joining the market, but the financial literacy has not kept pace. This subject is referred to as the information and action gap, where beginners struggle to interpret complex financial data. This research aims to investigate how Explainable Artificial Intelligence can be applied to simplify fundamental stock analysis. A quantitative experimental approach was adopted using a dataset of US companies, and being processed within WEKA, a machine learning platform. Fourteen key financial ratios were analysed using a 2 method, including supervised and unsupervised machine learning. The J48 Decision Tree was applied for supervised classification and achieved an accuracy of 65.71%, and also generated a transparent tree of how its logic classifies the data. Simple K-Means clustering was used as an unsupervised machine learning algorithm that identifies natural groupings within the data, and this machine learning algorithm achieve 80% alignment with the pre-defined company classifications. The findings prove that machine learning models can effectively structure and simplify financial data into interpretable outputs and support user understanding. However, the moderate predictive performance highlights the limitations of the models in real-world investing scenarios. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the potential of explainable machine learning as an educational tool that enhances financial understanding, rather than replacing human decision-making. The results support a shift toward FinTech systems that prioritise transparency, user learning, and informed decision support. Description: B.Sc. (Hons) Bus.& IT(Melit.)

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z