Balancing Sustainable Economic Growth with Quality of Life

A National Challenge MEA National Conference 2021

Economic growth in Malta in pre-pandemic days has been significant and since accession into the European Union, the country has not only topped growth charts but quickly converged towards and above the European average. However, economists and social experts alike have in recent years argued that GDP merely measures the size of a nation’s economy and does not reflect a nation’s welfare.

On its own, economic growth fails to truly measure the population’s quality of life, with issues such as measure the sociological and psychological effects having a significant impact on a person’s perception of his or her quality of life.

The Malta Employers Association will be tackling these issues in a National Conference on 18th June 2021. Due to ongoing social restrictions, this event will be held virtually.

Commenting on the launch of this event, MEA Director-General, Mr Joseph Farrugia said: “This discussion comes at an important juncture of the Maltese economy as its gears up for its regeneration process as the country comes out of a pandemic which had a devastating impact on society, families and businesses alike.

In parallel, 2021 happens to coincide with one the largest multi-annual budgets ever allocated by the European Union, together with additional post-pandemic assistance, thereby providing the perfect opportunity to target funding support in relation to the direction the country intends to take in the years ahead.”

In line with recent MEA webinars on related matters, an audience more than 250 delegates are expected to participate in this forthcoming Conference. Speakers will feature Prime Minister Dr Robert Abela, Leader of the Opposition Dr Bernard Grech, together with a number of economists, academics and other thought leaders.

The audience is expected to be composed of people from diverse backgrounds including policymakers, economic experts, company directors, HR professionals, NGO representatives, academics and members of the general public.

In its efforts to draw tangible conclusions and action from this National Conference, the  MEA will be following up on this event with a comprehensive report and a position paper based on the proceedings and feedback emerging from the Conference.

The event is being supported by EY, APS Bank plc and Atlas Insurance.

Registrations are open through the link https://bit.ly/3usnArx.