A study by Eurostat on the GDP per capita of 271 regions within the EU indicated, among other things, that the Maltese are wealthier than people in southern Italy. Now, of course, statistics can be given different interpretations and some could even wonder whether affluence in a society should be measured solely by the per capita apportionment of what is produced in an economy every year.

Most would dream of what they would do if they were rich. Like the amiable Topol in the classic musical Fiddler On The Roof many have well-defined plans of what would change in their lives if they suddenly became rich. Topol says he “would not have to work hard”. And who are we to dispute such logic? But whether that is workable is another matter altogether.

Economic strategists are unlikely to agree with Topol’s logic. In the National Reform Programme, aimed to define Malta’s plan to come in line with the Europe 2020 strategy, it is clearly stated that, in the last decade, Malta’s GDP per capita fell from 84 per cent of the EU average in 2000 to 78 per cent in 2009. Since joining the EU in 2004, this country has practically made no progress on convergence on this important indicator of wealth.

In fact, the economic planners make quite tough recommendations on the need for the country to pull up its socks to restore its competitiveness by improving productivity and by getting more people to work for longer to start catching up with the more affluent EU states. One of the specific recommendations made to achieve higher GDP per capita is to encourage more female workers to join the workforce and entice older people to retire later than they are doing at present.

While GDP per capita is universally accepted as the most acknowledged indicator of wealth in a society, many countries are now defining new benchmarks to gauge the well-being of a society. One indicator used by sociologists is that of “income inequality”. Income inequality is measured by comparing incomes of higher income households with the incomes of lower income households. High levels of inequality are associated with lower levels of social cohesion and overall life satisfaction.

Another indicator used in some countries is the “population with low income” index. This index attempts to monitor the proportion of families with low incomes compared to the whole population. It gives meaningful information on how equitably resources are distributed and how many people may be experiencing difficulty in participating fully in society because of their income limitations.

“Housing affordability” is another indicator on the standard of living experienced by families in a particular society. The housing affordability index measures the proportion of families spending more than 30 per cent of their take-home pay on mortgagee repayments or rent. Housing costs can make a substantial dent on the quality of life of most people but especially of low-income families.

Expensive fast cars, luxury yachts, exotic travel and glittering precious metal jewellery can all be ephemeral symbols of wealth that at best earn us the envy of our neighbours. We may also feel very smug about the more comfortable lifestyle we can afford when compared to our northern and southern neighbours in the Mediterranean.

But the true hallmarks of an affluent society are not only concerned with material wealth accumulation but also by socio-economic virtues like thrift, high standards of work ethics and by how much we care for each other.