Melchior Vella graduated from the University of Malta with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, majoring in Economics and Public Policy, followed by a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in Economics, which he completed with First Class honours. He subsequently pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Essex, where he obtained a Master of Science in Economics with distinction and a Doctor of Philosophy in Economics, completing his PhD in 2025.
Melchior is currently a Lecturer in Economics at the University of Malta, where he teaches economics at undergraduate and postgraduate level. He is also a Research Fellow at the Centre for Microsimulation and Policy Analysis within the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex, United Kingdom.
Prior to joining the University of Malta as a full-time academic, Melchior served as Director General at the Office for Competition within the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority. He has extensive experience in economic policy and public administration, having previously worked at the Economic Policy Department within the Ministry for Finance and at the National Development and Social Fund. He also contributed to the Working Group on Ageing Populations and Sustainability of the EU Economic Policy Committee.
His research interests span applied microeconomics, labour economics, inequality, behavioural and personality economics, microsimulation, and competition economics. He has authored a number of peer-reviewed publications and contributed to research and policy projects in Malta and internationally.
