ISET Economist Blog

26 October 2020

Levan Tevdoradze, Giorgi Papava

Right or Left: What Are Political Parties’ Economic Visions?

Last week Georgians took part in largely proportional parliamentary elections. Dozens of parties were registered as election contestants. To what extent do their visions coincide with yours in different important areas of public policy? You can get a detailed answer to these questions on the digital platform "Election Compass Georgia".

19 October 2020

Yaroslava Babych, Davit Keshelava

Sorry, You're Fired Due to COVID! Has COVID-19 Widened Gender Gap?

When the Georgian unemployment statistics for Quarter 2 (April, May, June) of 2020 came out, no one was surprised to see that the national unemployment rate, which had been falling steadily over the previous quarters, and even years, suddenly increased by 0.9 percentage points relative to the same quarter of 2019 (more precisely from 11.4% in Q2 2019 to 12.3% in Q2 2020). Perhaps we were more surprised by the fact that the unemployment rate did not go up more drastically in the midst of a strict lockdown, various travel restrictions, and quarantine measures.

12 October 2020

Salome Deisadze, Salome Gelashvili, Ia Katsia

To Subsidize or Not to Subsidize Georgia’s Wine Sector?

“Rtveli 2020” – a traditional vintage and rural harvest holiday in Georgia accompanied by feasts, musical events, and other celebrations started on August 26. This year, the Government of Georgia (GoG) is subsidizing the grape harvest to support growers in selling their products. 0.3 GEL of the total 0.8 GEL per kg of Rkatsiteli or Kakhuri Mtsvane is subsidized. In the case of extreme necessity, the GoG will be involved in the purchase of grapes as well.

05 October 2020

Guram Lobzhanidze

COVID-19 Strikes Again: How the Pandemic is Affecting Georgia’s Energy Security

Many of us well-remember the cold winter of 2006 when the Russian Federation cut its natural gas supply to Georgia. In general, it is clear that diversification in energy import markets reduces the risk of socio-economic shocks following political tensions with other countries. Fortunately, Georgia managed to find an alternative to the Russian supply and started importing gas from Azerbaijan. This blog will review the current gas import situation and discuss the expected trends in natural gas supply security.

28 September 2020

Mariam Galdava, Jemal Tsintsabadze, Nika Molashvili

Agritourism in Georgia

Imagine spending some time in the countryside away from the noisy, dusty city, getting involved in agricultural activities, and discovering the local culture. This kind of tourism is called agritourism.

21 September 2020

Giorgi Mzhavanadze

The Post-COVID Foreign Direct Investment in Georgia: go clean, or don’t go!

Governments around the world are racing against the clock to help communities damaged by the economic fallout of COVID-19. Eager to bring good news to their constituents, they are brokering deals likely to bring employment and much-needed international investments. Georgia, of course, is no exception. Recent FDI projects include a plastics processing plant with a stated capacity to employ 400 local workers in plastic waste recycling jobs and the associated sections of the supply chain.

ISET Economist Blog

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