ISET Economist Blog

17 January 2014

Robizon Khubulashvili

No Smart Farmers in Georgia

When I think about the lack of human capital in Georgian agriculture, I am reminded of the 1997 Georgian movie “The Turtle Doves of Paradise”, directed by Goderdzi Chokheli. In a Soviet village, an ex-priest decides to teach basic knowledge to old peasants. He wants them to learn to read, write, and elementary calculations skills.

23 December 2013

Eric Livny

The Educational Choices We Make...

Like many, I like having more choices but hate making choices. As a result, many of the most important choices in my life, including the choice among alternative partners, have been made for me by … others.

20 December 2013

Aram Derdzyan, Astghik Mkhitaryan

Looking Over the Border: The Pension Reform in Armenia

On the first of January, Armenia will adopt an entirely new pension system. This radical reform addresses two problems: widespread poverty among the elderly and a lack of capital in the economy. The very same problems also exist in Georgia, where the standard governmental pension currently is 150 lari, and where the economy is suffering from high capital costs due to notoriously low saving rates.

16 December 2013

Giorgi Kelbakiani, Eric Livny

The Georgian Egg of Discord

While ISET’s Khachapuri Index continues to climb up in a perfectly predictable fashion – driven by the seasonal increase in the price of cheese – a bit of drama is being provided by the ups and downs in the price of eggs. According to ISET data, egg prices, which for a couple of years hovered around 29 tetri a piece, suddenly collapsed in June and July 2013 to a minimum of about 26 tetri.

13 December 2013

Nino Doghonadze, Florian Biermann

On Imitation, Forbidden Fruits, and Sour Grapes

For many observers, the Georgian job market is a mystery. Companies are bitterly complaining about a lack of engineers, forcing them to withhold the expansion of production capacities and to cut down investments. Yet Georgian young people, who could make good fortunes by studying technical subjects, prefer to learn the law, business administration and the like, qualifications that are oversupplied in the market and on average do not yield high salaries.

09 December 2013

Olga Azhgibetseva, Florian Biermann

The Need for Strategic Research

When a country engages in scientific research, the fruits are harvested by the whole of humanity. Fundamental research, generating knowledge without direct applications but needed for developing applications, is published in international scientific journals open to everybody.

ISET Economist Blog

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