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    <link>https://hdl.handle.net/10419/210793</link>
    <description />
    <pubDate>Wed, 29 Apr 2026 12:28:42 GMT</pubDate>
    <dc:date>2026-04-29T12:28:42Z</dc:date>
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      <title>The impact of Malta's free childcare scheme on female employment</title>
      <link>https://hdl.handle.net/10419/336504</link>
      <description>Title: The impact of Malta's free childcare scheme on female employment
Authors: Maltseva, Natalia Bezzina
Abstract: This study evaluates the impact of Malta's 2014 childcare reform, a universal Free Childcare Scheme for children aged 3 months to 3 years, on female employment. Using a difference-in-differences (DD) framework and matched DD models, I find that the reform may have increased the probability of female employment by 1.3-2.4 percentage points, with effects growing over time. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that employment gains were disproportionately concentrated among single mothers and mothers with multiple children, i.e., subgroups that have historically faced greater structural barriers to employment. Notably, the reform likely helped reduce pre-existing employment gaps by up to 26% for single mothers, 39.3% for two-child mothers and 14.1% for mothers with three or more children. However, no persistent employment effects were observed post-eligibility, and fiscal savings were limited to reduced welfare claims among single parents. These findings contribute to the global literature on childcare subsidies by highlighting how nation-wide access, when subject to well-designed eligibility criteria, can narrow labour market disparities, while also showing that persistent employment effects require sustained support beyond the early childhood years.</description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <dc:date>2026-01-01T00:00:00Z</dc:date>
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    <item>
      <title>Analysis of the payment habits in Malta</title>
      <link>https://hdl.handle.net/10419/322345</link>
      <description>Title: Analysis of the payment habits in Malta
Authors: Savo, Stefano; Galea, Brenda Lee
Abstract: This paper presents the findings derived from a comprehensive survey conducted by the Central Bank of Malta, in collaboration with the National Statistics Office, with the aim of analysing payment habits in Malta. The research explores individuals' perspectives on various aspects, including accessibility to different payment instruments, preferred methods for conducting purchases, and perceptions of different payment instrument characteristics and new technologies such as contactless payments and digital assets. The analysis is based on data collected from 1,024 individuals in Malta. The results of this survey can assist the Central Bank of Malta and other relevant stakeholders in formulating future policy actions to enhance the payments ecosystem in Malta. Additionally, where possible, the data has been compared with the results from a similar survey published by the Central Bank of Malta in 2020.</description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://hdl.handle.net/10419/322345</guid>
      <dc:date>2025-01-01T00:00:00Z</dc:date>
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      <title>Where does Malta's P2P rental market fit? A case study for 2023</title>
      <link>https://hdl.handle.net/10419/322392</link>
      <description>Title: Where does Malta's P2P rental market fit? A case study for 2023
Authors: Spiteri, Sarah
Abstract: This study examines Malta's peer-to-peer (P2P) rental market by comparing rental listings from Facebook Marketplace and an aggregation of real estate agencies' adverts, while the Housing Authority's official register is used as the benchmark characterising the local rental market. Using a combination of hedonic regression models and natural language processing techniques, including Word2Vec, Doc2Vec, and K-Means clustering, the analysis identifies key differences in pricing strategies, property characteristics, and the role of digital platforms in rental advertising. Findings reveal that advertised listings are skewed towards higherend properties, with a greater prevalence of larger units and higher rental prices compared to the official register. Additionally, real estate agencies exhibit distinct pricing behaviours across platforms, with agency-listed properties on Facebook Marketplace generally featuring advertised rents that are between 1.5% and 2.9% lower than those posted by individual landlords. Moreover, P2P platforms usually contain a broader range of property types compared to those in aggregated agency listings. This suggests that agencies tend to use Facebook Marketplace to reach a wider audience, including lower-budget renters, while agency listings primarily cater to higher-end properties and a wealthier clientele, reflected in its higher average rental prices and greater concentration of premium listings. Linguistic analysis of property descriptions shows that comprehensive, high-quality phrasing increases rental asking prices by 3.7% to 10.2%, while the presence of specific quality-indicative words raises rents by 1.2% to 3.5%, with the range largely depending on the online platform on which an advert is posted. These findings underscore the importance of considering data source biases in rental market analysis and highlight the role of social media and platforms for real estate agencies' listings in shaping rental market dynamics and pricesetting behaviours.</description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://hdl.handle.net/10419/322392</guid>
      <dc:date>2025-01-01T00:00:00Z</dc:date>
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      <title>Wealth transfers and homeownership in Malta</title>
      <link>https://hdl.handle.net/10419/322333</link>
      <description>Title: Wealth transfers and homeownership in Malta
Authors: Antonaroli, Valentina; Deguara, Warren; Castaldo, Valerio Sergio
Abstract: In this paper, we study the role of wealth transfers in shaping homeownership in Malta. Leveraging data from four waves of the Maltese Household Finance and Consumption Survey, we perform a logistic regression to investigate how financial inflows in the form of gifts or inheritances, affect (i) the ability of younger households to acquire property, and (ii) afford higher-value homes. Our findings indicate that young households receiving wealth transfers are 15.1% more likely to be homeowners. Larger inheritances exert a stronger influence, with transfers exceeding €94,604 resulting in the highest effect. Households benefitting from gifts or inheritances can afford properties that are on average 31.7% more expensive. Additionally, a 1.0% increase in the transfer size leads to a 1.0% rise in the property value. This result holds for both young households (likely first-time buyers) and older households who can use the transfer to upgrade their dwelling.</description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://hdl.handle.net/10419/322333</guid>
      <dc:date>2025-01-01T00:00:00Z</dc:date>
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