The change in the spatial distribution of employment of the Maltese Islands in the 20th century

Abstract

In this dissertation the spatial distribution of employment of the Maltese Islands for the 20th Century is studied. The importance of the three sectors of the economy is studied in relation to the six different regions of the Maltese Islands. The primary sector includes all economic activity which is directly concerned with the extraction of natural resources (Skinner, Met al. 2000). The secondary industry is concerned with the processing of any primary raw materials and their manufacture (Skinner, M et al. 2000) and the tertiary industry provides a service to the population. In fact, it is otherwise known as the service sector (Skinner, Met al. 2000). The Rostow and Clarke-Fisher models are applied to the Maltese Islands. The Maltese Islands are in the fourth stage of the Rostow model as the Age of high mass consumption has not been reached. According to the Clark-Fisher Model, as a nation develops, the proportion of its wealth produced from each sector changes from primary to secondary and eventually to tertiary. This also implies that employment structure in each sector will change as well. Results show that the Clarke-Fisher model cannot be applied to the Maltese Islands on a macro scale, as the primary industry has never been a high employer. However, regional application of the Clarke-Fisher model shows that the Northern Region has u Clarke Fisher model which is much similar to the original one.