ISET Economist Blog

30 June 2022

Mariam Chachava

Yes, we can reduce abortion levels without limiting women’s rights

On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that the right to an abortion was constitutionally protected under the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

07 June 2021

Mariam Chachava, Mariam Gogotchuri, Shota Katamadze, Irakli Jgharkava

Managing Organic Waste Optimally – the Current Trends and Potential Solutions for Georgia

As waste accumulation keeps expanding, it increasingly poses a serious threat to human health and the environment. Waste can be the source of many diseases, it emits large amounts of methane (a potent greenhouse gas), and exacerbates global warming. According to World Bank estimates, without urgent intervention, the current levels of global waste will increase by 70% by 2050.

09 November 2020

Mariam Chachava

Tbilisi Central Park Project – Call for More Green Space in the City

Given the increasing pressure on the city’s environment, action should be taken to provide a healthier and more habitable space. The development of urban parks is therefore one viable option. However, the trend over the last decade has gone in exactly the opposite direction, with green space per capita decreasing dramatically; estimations from Tbilisi City Hall data highlight that per-capita green space decreased from 5.6 to 1.3m2 between 2010-2018 (well below average European standards 10-15m2).

16 April 2018

Mariam Chachava, Levan Pavlenishvili, Norberto Pignatti

A Good February for Electricity Generation: Time for Reflection, After Last Year’s Worries

In February 2017, Georgia experienced the largest gap between generation and consumption in the last decade. This was followed by an even greater gap in March 2017. The size of those gaps, and the fact that the historical trend was suggesting an increase in the electricity gap, prompted policy proposals emphasizing the need to encourage investments in power generation.

06 November 2017

Mariam Chachava, Norberto Pignatti

The Long, Hot Summer: Why We Witnessed a Spike in Forest Fires, and What Can Be Done About It – Part II (man-made fires)

Forest fires pose a threat to human life and property. As we discussed in a previous article, most countries throughout the world, Georgia included, suffered from an unusually high number of forest fires during the summer of 2017. In Georgia, this topic was the subject of a spirited public debate about whether these fires were wild or man-made. In our previous article we discussed how natural causes generate wild forest fires.

02 October 2017

Mariam Chachava, Norberto Pignatti

The Long, Hot Summer: Why Did We Witness a Spike in Forest Fires and What Can Be Done About It – Part I

In the summer of 2017, Georgia experienced an unusually high number of forest fires across the entire country. 35 forest fires were recorded just in August (official data reporting the size of area burned by these fires is not yet available). In almost all regions of the country, several fires were reported. Among them, the conflagration in the Borjomi gorge had the most dramatic consequences: it lasted for seven days (20-27 August), and more than 100 hectares of forest were destroyed. Many people claim that these cannot be all accidental events.

ISET Economist Blog

A blog about economics in the South Caucasus financed within the institutional grant by the Government of Sweden.