ISET Economist Blog

24 January 2022

Norberto Pignatti

Energy security and the transition to a green economy. Is the Georgian media ready?

In previous articles we have discussed the visible deterioration of Georgia’s energy security, where energy demand keeps increasing and the share of domestic energy sources in overall primary supply (the gross amount consumed by the country over one year) is declining. Reversing this trend requires the country to accelerate the pace that it develops domestic – and mostly renewable – energy generation capacity; ideally in combination with greater efforts to improve energy efficiency.

22 November 2021

Norberto Pignatti, Erekle Shubitidze, Guram Lobzhanidze

Energy Imports, Domestic Production, and Energy Security: Dynamics, Challenges, and the Importance of Developing Renewable Energy Sources in Georgia

The International Energy Agency provides a definition of energy security across two dimensions. In a broad sense, energy security is defined as the “uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price,” while short-term energy security denotes that an energy system has the capability to promptly balance any disruption in the supply-demand equilibrium.

15 November 2021

Salome Gelashvili, Veriko Shengelia

Environmental Protection and Rural Development in Georgia in 2030. How Does the Plan Look?

Back in the summer of 2021, the Government of Georgia (GoG) worked on a 10-year strategic framework for different sectors of the economy including agriculture. In July 2021, Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili announced the targets for the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (MEPA) under the government’s 10-year-strategic framework.

18 October 2021

Salome Deisadze, Elene Seturidze

Is There an End in Sight to Food Price Inflation?

In the past year and a half since the pandemic began, we’ve all become familiar with phrases such as “supply chain disruption,” “turbulence and volatility in international markets,” and “in these unprecedented times,” often used to preface news about pandemic-related food price increases across the globe.

15 October 2021

Mariam Tsulukidze, Erekle Shubitidze, Goga Sukhashvili, Jemal Tsintsabadze, Khatia Tsaava

Desertification in Kakheti – a Threat to Kakhetian Agriculture?

Kakheti is one Georgian region that is economically dependent on agriculture. According to data from the Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy 2021-2027, 40.1% of Georgia’s agricultural lands are within Kakheti, where its largest areas are arable lands, pastures, and vineyards, making it the leading region in the production of cereals, livestock, and wine. In 2020, wine production in Kakheti alone accounted for 75.5% of all the wine produced throughout the country.

27 September 2021

Mery Julakidze, Gocha Kardava

Five Ways Covid-19 Affected the Georgian Labor Market in 2020

The World Health Organization’s declaration of Covid-19 as a pandemic on March 11, 2020, can be considered a watershed in the recent history of mankind. The pandemic and its concomitant changes, such as switching to remote activities, affected different aspects of one’s life, including individuals’ participation in and behavior on the labor market. Georgia was no exception in this respect. The unprecedented nature of the crisis brought about unprecedented consequences for the country’s already vulnerable labor market.

ISET Economist Blog

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