ISET Economist Blog

21 October 2014

Florian Biermann

Market Twilight

Last week, I began to discuss the question of whether Francis Fukuyama’s hypothesis about convergence to liberal democracy and capitalism is at least partially right. While the countries of the world have not been moving towards democracy in the last 25 years, he could still be right that the future belongs to the markets. This week, however, I will argue that this is not the case.

17 October 2014

Eric Livny, Tom Coupe

Handling Frozen Conflicts: the Economic Angle

It now seems more and more likely that Eastern Donbas (the area currently controlled by the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics) will become a frozen conflict zone, a territory in which the Ukrainian government will have little power to enforce its laws and where slowly a parallel governance system, an unrecognized ‘quasi-state’, will emerge. In the absence of a viable military alternative, one option likely to be considered by Ukraine and its Western allies is to exercise ‘strategic patience’.

14 October 2014

Florian Biermann

Is Capitalism the Final Stage of History?

No. In this two-part article, I will argue that there are challenges to capitalism on the horizon that are virtually unsurmountable. There are good reasons to believe that in 30 years from now we will not see global dominance of market systems anymore.

10 October 2014

Eric Livny

How Much Regulation Does a Country Need?

After the great success in preparing and delivering the Young Bankers training program for ProCredit Bank Georgia, a new training program for senior bank staff was developed and conducted in Tbilisi and Batumi in 2012. Three different groups participated in the program. These three groups consisted of employees from two departments - The Medium Loans Assessment Department and Corporate Client Service Department. In this particular program, four modules were incorporated: General Microeconomics; General Macroeconomics; Banking and Data Analysis

07 October 2014

Nino Mosiashvili

The Economic Potential of Georgian Wine

Winemaking is one of the oldest Georgian traditions that have survived to this day. Archaeologists have proved that the history of Georgian wine production reaches back into the past at least 8000 years. Arguably, this makes Georgia the earliest place on earth where wine was produced. And the tradition is alive – today there are not just big wine firms, but it is common among ordinary Georgians to grow grapes and produce their own, homemade wine.

03 October 2014

Nino Doghonadze

Pride and Prejudice in Georgian Food Consumption

Hospitality is one of the most prized aspects of Georgian culture. Welcoming (literal translation: "respecting") guests is a matter of great pride for any family. My mother grew up in a small Imeretian village, and as she tells me, the kids of the family were not allowed to eat until the guests were fully "respected", i.e. properly fed. Even the poorest household in the village would go out of its way (and income) to impress its guests with a cornucopia of local delicacies, meats, veggies, and homemade wine.

ISET Economist Blog

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