https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/34474 2026-04-05T10:01:56Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/34525 Title: Overtaxed? : a comment on the Maltese experience Authors: Delia, E. P. Abstract: Successive government economic documents in Malta over the past twenty years consider the role of the local tax structure in terms of its contribution to stimulate personal initiative and encourage production, and to generate sufficient revenue for the State to finance at least the annual current expenditure. Yet, it is becoming common to read that local production is overburdened with taxation and regulations. If this claim is correct it means that the tax policies currently implemented are defeating the Government's own set objectives. In this paper we comment on the theoretical relationships that exist between the tax structure and the two policy goals indicated and we assess the validity of the proposition that Malta is an overtaxed economy. No reference is made to non-tax factors, which are considered harmful for economic development. 1983-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/34524 Title: The growth of trade unions under British colonialism : a comparative study Authors: Pirotta, Godfrey A. Abstract: Britain brought to its colonies a set of Western attitudes toward the appropriate role and status of trade unions. On September 17, 1930, Lord Passfield (formerly Sidney Webb), Secretary of State for the Colonies issued a directive, urging all colonial governments to take appropriate measures to encourage the exist- ence of trade unions. Lord Passfield said: "I regard the formation of such associations in the Colonial Dependencies as a natural and legitimate consequence of social and industrial progress, but I recognize that there is a danger that, without sympathetic supervision and guidance, organizations of labourers without experience of combination for any social or economic progress, may fall under the domination of disaffected persons, by which their activities may be diverted to improper and mischievous ends. I accordingly feel that it is the duty of Colonial Governments to take such steps as may be possible to smooth the passage of such organizations, as they emerge, into constitutional channels. As a step in this direction it is, in my opinion, desirable that legislation on the lines of Section 2 and 3 of the Trade Union Act 1871 should be enacted in all Dependencies, where it does not already exist, declaring that trade unions are not criminal, or unlawful for civil purposes, and also providing for the compulsory registration of trade unions". This directive was to remain standard British policy towards trade unions in the colonies and provided the "raison d'etre" which became known as the "British Model". 1983-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/34523 Title: Measuring public enterprise productive efficiency : a suggested framework Authors: Scicluna, Edward Abstract: In discussing the productive efficiency of public enterprises, the expert group meeting convened by ICPE in November 1981, noted that in the imperfect market conditions prevailing in developing countries, where different factors, including price distortions, have to be taken into consideration, indicators of productive efficiency represent a necessary evaluative tool compensating for the inadequacy of profitability indicators. This need is often highlighted in those instances where public enterprises are entrusted with social goals, particularly in the underpricing of products, which run counter to commercial objectives. The rationale of this paper is that unless some systematic means of measuring the output and productivity of public enterprises is found, a large proportion of economic activity will remain unaccountable. It is inconceivable that the "efficiency" measures expected of public enterprises by concerned citizens and administrators in developing countries are either non-existent or are so primitive as to give misleading information. Notwithstanding the number of conceptual and methodological problems which abound in this area, it must be realized that parallel attempts are being made by governments and research institutions of advanced industrial countries to measure the productivity of non- commercial public sector activity. 1983-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/34522 Title: Alienation, anomie and traditional powerlessness Authors: Zammit, Edward L. Abstract: For many centuries the Maltese people were powerless in determining their national, political and economic matters. Powerlessness here refers to a social condition which is beyond the control of certain actors whose lives are determined by it in important respects. This "national powerlessness" was psychologically compensated by a high emotional investment in "local" institutions which, in a sense, provided the people with alternative sources of power and prestige. To an extent, these "safety valve" institutions distracted the people's attentions from national struggles for control in vital areas which were beyond their reach. In this context, the objective powerlessness is also accompanied by a subjective, normative acceptance of that condition. This does not exclude some dormant, cultural aspirations for control even in the national areas. In fact, such aspirations emerging from whatever source may gain popularity during periods of unrest due to unusual economic deprivation or manifest political repression. For the most part, however, there are few, if any, signs of a challenge to the existing national power structure. On the contrary, the prevailing interactions between the dominant and subordinate actors tend towards an apparent authority rather than a power relationship. 1983-01-01T00:00:00Z