{
  "title": "Malta: 2020 Selected Issues",
  "publication": "IMF Staff Country Reports, April 10, 2020",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2020/04/09/malta-2020-selected-issues-49321",
  "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2020/04/09/malta-2020-selected-issues-49321",
  "overlayPath": "/en/publications/cr/issues/2020/04/09/malta-2020-selected-issues-49321/index.md",
  "summary": "This Selected Issues paper analyses immigration and the labor market in Malta. This paper finds that immigration has been positive for Malta, as it has helped boost growth, employment, productivity and incomes.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Executive summary and main findings",
      "content": "- The Selected Issues paper analyses immigration and the labor market in Malta.\n- Immigration has been positive for Malta, helping boost growth, employment, productivity and incomes.\n- The increased availability of foreign labor has helped contain wage inflation (and hence probably also price inflation) in recent years, contributing to maintain competitiveness in the face of a booming economy.\n- The results suggest that foreign workers have helped contain aggregate wage inflation."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Empirical approach and drivers of nominal wage growth",
      "content": "- Baseline regression regressors:\n  - the headline unemployment rate\n  - lagged core inflation\n  - labor productivity growth\n  - the share of foreign workers in total employment\n  - the first and fourth lags of the dependent variable\n- Results across some selected models suggest that foreign labor has helped contain wage inflation in recent years.\n- A decomposition analysis is conducted to identify the drivers of nominal wage growth and to calculate the contributions of each of the independent variables included in the regressions."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Policy-relevant implications (implied by findings)",
      "content": "- Maintaining sufficient availability of foreign labor can help contain aggregate wage inflation and support competitiveness amid strong economic expansion.\n- Monitoring the share of foreign workers in total employment is important for understanding wage dynamics and inflationary pressures.\n- Policies that consider interactions among unemployment, core inflation momentum, productivity growth, and foreign labor share can improve wage-inflation outlook assessments.\n\n---\n\n Content in this bundle\n\n- Malta: 2020 Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 99; March 25, 2020\n  - Malta: 2020 Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 99; March 25, 2020 (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n  - Malta: 2020 Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 99; March 25, 2020 (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}"
    }
  ],
  "bullets": [
    "[Markdown version](/en/publications/cr/issues/2020/04/09/malta-2020-selected-issues-49321/index.md)",
    "[Structured JSON version](/en/publications/cr/issues/2020/04/09/malta-2020-selected-issues-49321/index.json)",
    "[Bundle manifest](/en/publications/cr/issues/2020/04/09/malta-2020-selected-issues-49321/bundle-manifest.json)",
    "Published: April 10, 2020",
    "Series: IMF Staff Country Reports",
    "The Selected Issues paper analyses immigration and the labor market in Malta.",
    "Immigration has been positive for Malta, helping boost growth, employment, productivity and incomes.",
    "The increased availability of foreign labor has helped contain wage inflation (and hence probably also price inflation) in recent years, contributing to maintain competitiveness in the face of a booming economy.",
    "The results suggest that foreign workers have helped contain aggregate wage inflation.",
    "Baseline regression regressors:",
    "Results across some selected models suggest that foreign labor has helped contain wage inflation in recent years.",
    "A decomposition analysis is conducted to identify the drivers of nominal wage growth and to calculate the contributions of each of the independent variables included in the regressions.",
    "Maintaining sufficient availability of foreign labor can help contain aggregate wage inflation and support competitiveness amid strong economic expansion.",
    "Monitoring the share of foreign workers in total employment is important for understanding wage dynamics and inflationary pressures.",
    "Policies that consider interactions among unemployment, core inflation momentum, productivity growth, and foreign labor share can improve wage-inflation outlook assessments.",
    "**Malta: 2020 Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 99; March 25, 2020**"
  ],
  "related": [
    {
      "title": "Malta: 2020 Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 99; March 25, 2020",
      "role": "document",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/cr/2020/english/1mltea2020002.pdf",
      "summary": {
        "path": "/-/media/files/publications/cr/2020/english/1mltea2020002.pdf.md",
        "mime": "text/markdown"
      },
      "binary": {
        "path": "/-/media/files/publications/cr/2020/english/1mltea2020002.pdf",
        "mime": "application/pdf"
      }
    }
  ],
  "alternates": {
    "markdown": "/en/publications/cr/issues/2020/04/09/malta-2020-selected-issues-49321/index.md",
    "json": "/en/publications/cr/issues/2020/04/09/malta-2020-selected-issues-49321/index.json",
    "bundleManifest": "/en/publications/cr/issues/2020/04/09/malta-2020-selected-issues-49321/bundle-manifest.json"
  },
  "generatedAtUtc": "2026-09-12T17:54:41.888Z"
}