Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1440009
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 2 JANUARY 2022 10 NEWS 7. Politics of pronouns In 2022, you may increasingly start receiving emails with the sender's name accompanied by the pro- nouns they identify with. The use of pronouns to reflect the person's identity is one of the next frontiers in the language debate. Alongside the traditional 'he/him' and 'she/ her', watch out for 'they/them' in the campaign literature of some election candidates… and the offi- cial Eurovision website. 8. Energy and inflation Enemalta's fixed price agreement with Electrogas expires in April and LNG prices will start reflecting cost- lier market realties. Fuel prices may also rise. But households will not feel the pinch because government has pledged to absorb the impact with a €200 million cushion. Disrup- tions in international supply chains will, however, continue to have an impact on non-energy inflation. 9. Cannabis authority Malta was the first EU member state to make cannabis use and cultiva- tion legal for adults last year. The law passed by parliament also makes provisions for a can- nabis authority to regulate the sector. The new year will see the authority tak- ing the first baby steps, acting as a model of sorts for other EU ju- risdictions planning to go down Mal- ta's route on cannabis le- galisation. STEPHANIE FABRI IT'S that time of the year, where economists are asked what's ahead in the coming year. Yet, the reality is that no one has a crystal ball. Predictions are in- dicating an economic slowdown not only in Europe but also in the US, and China. Still, it is diffi- cult to predict the future even in times when the economy is rel- atively stable, let alone in times like these, whereby uncertainty prevails. Several uncertainties are clouding the picture in 2022 which means that this year might not be the year of "nor- mality" we have much yearned for. One main reason is that we are unsure on how far the Omicron variant will spread and whether more lockdowns would be needed. This will of course have a different impact on the different economic sec- tors. Uncertainty in 2022 also abounds around the type and level of inflation the global economy will be facing. Inflationary pressures oc- curred in 2021, mainly as a result of supply-chain disrup- tions, increased consumer de- mand and labour shortages. There are different viewpoints on whether these inflationary pressures are temporary or long-lasting. Long-lasting inflationary pres- sures lead to higher consum- er prices and as the situation stands, such pressures are likely to be experienced by economies and sectors that are energy-in- tensive and logistics-depend- ent. In addition, one should mention that this long-lasting inflation might lead to social unrest if the shocks on food prices persist. Potential political changes as a result of the elections in France and possibly Italy, could affect decisions with regards to fiscal and monetary policy, economic unity and direction within the EU. In addition, the EU has additional uncertainties in relation to the Brexit impact. All of these uncertainties create a fog in the crystal ball, however, not all is doom and gloom when trying to under- stand what could happen in the months to come. COVID-19 and other crises taught us that despite everything, economies bounce back by constantly striving to adapt to the present and build the necessary founda- tions for the future. A forward-looking mode pro- vides an economic purpose and direction, which ultimate- ly forms expectations amongst business people, policy-mak- ers and society at large. An economic roadmap is not only essential in times of economic growth, but even more so dur- ing times of crisis, whereby building takes the shape of re- sponsible recovery. What we have learnt is that the roadmap is not cast in stone, it has to adapt itself to the current situation, but always keeping the end goal fixed – prosperity, well-being, and better quality of life. Malta's small economy de- pends on international devel- opments. Unfortunately, we cannot control the global economic realities, however what we can control, to a certain extent, is to what degree they are likely to impact our economy. 2021 was an extremely chal- lenging year, worse than any- one could have predicted, yet, we managed to surpass most of those challenges by implement- ing the right incentives and en- suring that the necessary poli- cies are in place. This is an important remind- er that despite all the poten- tial challenges we might face this year, we can emerge even stronger than before, especial- ly if we ensure that we rebuild a better economic model than the one we had pre-crisis. FOG INSIDE THE CRYSTAL BALL Economist and lecturer at the University of Malta