| import substitution is promoted through price supports and through
incentives for interline planting of crops, such as potatoes, in the cane fields. in 1987 and 1988 the government pursued a policy of rapid rises in real
wages; in the latter year a number of price controls were reimposed to stem the
accelerating inflation. |
|
| le mouvement syndical a l'le maurice. port louis:
artisans and general workers' union. indians in a plural society: a report on mauritius. indians overseas: the mauritian experience. "statutory wage fixing in the sugar industry in
mauritius.
commission of inquiry on the sugar industry. the human factor, the sugar industry and mauritius: a vision for
the future. mauritius: development of a plural society. a
re-structuration programme for the sugar industry. the economic and social structure of mauritius. pour une ile maurice libre et socialiste. from revolution to reformism: the political dynamics of
mauritian society and the evolution of the mauritian militant movement. social policies and population growth in mauritius. paris: presses universitaires de france. the characteristics of island economies. fresh water is in short supply on the island, and the
soil is poor, although the stone found there is highly suitable for build-
ings. aside from its people, the only inherent assets of malta are its
strategic location and excellent natural harbor. |
economic and political background
in 1530 the holy roman emperor charles v invited the knights of st.
john, who had lost rhodes to the ottoman turks, to settle in malta.
because of its strategic location, the island provided the knights with a
new base from which to continue their defense of the western mediter-
ranean against the turks. in the great siege of 1565 the knights with-
stood the forces of suleiman the magnificent and remained in possession
of malta until dislodged by napoleon in 1798. the maltese population
revolted against the french and, with the help of a british naval blockade,
forced the invaders to surrender. the knights left malta a rich legacy in the cathedral of st. |
john
and the many public buildings in which the present government con-
ducts most of its business. after the opening of the suez
canal in 1869 the island became a key point on the mediterranean route
to india and was the site of a large naval dockyard. during world war
i it was used as a base for the british expedition to the dardanelles, and
in world war ii it played a crucial role in the allied defense of the
mediterranean against the axis powers. in the cold war years following world
war ii, malta became a base for the north atlantic treaty organization
(nato).

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| '
thanks to the island's strategic location, revenues from outside
sources have bolstered its economy for centuries. in fact, during the period of the knights' rule
and throughout the nineteenth century, malta had a dual economy. in
rural areas the principal occupations were subsistence farming, fishing,
and cotton weaving. the more advanced part of the economy was
concentrated around harbor areas, where the main activities were re-
lated to servicing the military establishment the maltese constructed
buildings and fortifications for the military, worked in shipyards, and
supplied the stores. after the opening of the suez canal, entrep6t trade
became an important activity.
the dependence of malta on british and allied military expendi-
tures was brought out vividly in a report on the island's economic
problems prepared in 1955 by the well-known oxford economists
thomas balogh and dudley seers.0 million generated a modest balance of payments surplus of 1. |
| 7 million consisted of the
wages and salaries of maltese defense-related workers. public construction labor included.
source: malta, statistical abstract of the maltese islands, annual issues.
the relationship between military expenditures and the island's eco-
nomic fortunes is also reflected in its population movements. indeed, whenever military expenditure
and employment fell, there was substantial outmigration. outmigration in lean peri-
ods continues to this day. since world war i most of the migrants have
settled in australia and the united kingdom. any sudden reduction in spending would have
plunged the country into , and emigration seemed to the
only escape from this prospect.
malta 261
political background
in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries malta enjoyed a -
erable degree of , even though it was a .. .. |