Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/8920
Title: From fortress to entrepot : the co-existence of the welfare state and the competitive state in Malta
Authors: Herrera, David (2013)
Keywords: Welfare state -- Malta
Competition -- Malta
Economic development -- Malta
Issue Date: 2013
Abstract: Malta's transformation over the past fifty years since its Independence from the United Kingdom is little short of remarkable. In just under five short decades, Malta has evolved from a state dependent on the needs and investment of its former colonial leaders to a regional economic hub determined to make a name for itself and enhance its competitiveness in a wide range of sectors, from IT to pharmaceuticals, and from financial services to maritime facilities. All the while, it has developed a strong redistributive welfare system to support and empower the most vulnerable members of society. Yet despite the extraordinary depth of change, Malta?s socio-economic and political framework has also displayed a strong degree of continuity. Despite the recent push towards introducing targeted incentives to specific social groups, Malta?s welfare system remains largely universalistic in character. And Malta?s ability to use its geostrategic location to its advantage has been a defining characteristic of its policy approach, both in its closed, 'fortress' economy and in its evolution into a regional 'entrepôt'. This dissertation explores Malta's social, economic and political transition with the typology of island governance developed by Warrington and Milne. Two of the categories in this typology are of specific relevance to Malta's brand of island governance: the 'fortress', which is paternalistic and inward-looking in outlook, and the 'entrepôt', which is outward-looking, entrepreneurial and focused on enhancing the island?s competitiveness. This research exercise examines Malta's transition from a fortress to an entrepôt by analysing the progressive shift in the balance between two of Malta's most important policy planks: the welfare state and competition-oriented policy, referred to as the 'competitive state' for the sake of comparison. In carrying out its analysis, this study rests on the hypothesis that, as an island micro-state, Malta's governance is spurred on by the mother of paradoxes of 'islandness': the quest for affluence and the simultaneous attempt to address the island micro-state's chronic vulnerability. The examination of Malta's transition from a fortress to an entrepôt is undertaken with an interpretivist epistemology, using mixed methods research to develop a longitudinal design and case study analysis. This research design serves to provide a complete picture of the multi-faceted, complex relationship between welfare provision and competitive economic policy, answering why these two policy planks emerged so strongly, and identifying policy choices that Malta will have to face in the future.
Description: M.A.PUBLIC POLICY
URI: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar//handle/123456789/8920
Appears in Collections:Dissertations - FacEMAPP - 2013

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