Connecting quality of life, tourism specialization, and economic growth in small island destinations: The case of Malta

This study assesses the relationship between quality of life (QOL), tourism specialization, and economic growth as applied to small island destinations. The study is grounded on a QOL model and translog production function and employs the limited information maximum likelihood estimator to investigate the nature of this relationship in Malta. Results indicate that the relationship between tourism specialization and both QOL and economic growth is only partial. Tourism specialization improves the residents QOL but, only on the short term. The study enhances the existing empirical evidence of the literature that examines the relationship between tourism specialization and residents' QOL in the medium- and long-term in that it controls for endogeneity. The translog production function methodology is novel as it allows for examining tourism returns and the factors that shape tourism preferences. This permits supply and demand variables to be combined into a production and consumption system.