Are we missing out on this? Corinne Fenech’s article ‘On corruption and clientelism’ (April 9) deals mostly with how these elements impact on the fabric of our society. And it makes some very important observations and questions. There is, however, another often never mentioned reality. It can be succinctly summarised in this apparently simplistic or even naive question: “Does belief in hell have anything to do with the extent of prosperity in an economy?” The link between religious and civic behaviour, on the one hand, and economics on the other is an area which I have researched and written about. Does belief in, and consistently following, the tenets of the teaching of Allah, or Sheeva, or Buddha, or Jesus provide any measurable input to economic operators’ propensity towards higher and more productive labour inputs and outcomes? Does having a strong church-going community have anything to do with a better functioning manufacturing industry or a nation’s higher GDP? How does civic behaviour impact on a country’s economy? Does it tell us something that, as church attendance in Malta started to drop, corruption certainly started running riot in our nation’s fabric? This is not...