ISET Economist Blog

01 February 2021

Ia Katsia

COVID-19 in Georgia's Agriculture: a challenge, an opportunity or both?

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread economic distress in many countries around the world. For the first time since 2009, the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to have declined in 2020. Alongside other sectors of the economy, such impacts are also being felt by the food and agricultural sector. The pandemic has affected food security and nutrition, supply chains, food and livestock production, and food safety.

11 January 2021

Tamar Sulukhia

May Certain Trends Brought By COVID-19 Be Worth Keeping Post-Pandemic?

The pandemic has taken an enormous toll on human lives and health globally. It has severely impacted the socio-economic state of millions of households, bringing immeasurable human tragedy, paralysis of social connectivity, economic crisis, and, to a certain extent, culture shock.

28 December 2020

Erekle Shubitidze, Guram Lobzhanidze

Enguri HPP Is Closing While Demand on Abkhazia’s Side Keeps Growing: Challenges and Opportunities for The Georgia’s Electricity Sector at the Beginning Of 2021

According to the last four years’ data, Georgia has a chronic electricity deficit in ten months out of twelve, with the country showing an electricity surplus only in May and June (and, occasionally, in April and/or July). Despite the COVID-19 crisis dampening electricity demand in the country, 2020 was no exception. After two months – May and June – characterized by a positive generation-consumption gap, starting from July 2020 Georgia has been generating less electricity than required to cover consumption.

21 December 2020

Elene Seturidze, Luc Leruth

Improving the Mix and Match in the Labor Market: Can Education Management Information Systems help?

Education in Georgia is essentially the responsibility of the public sector (the vast majority of total enrolment in the case of General education) and has received a lot of attention in recent years with public outlays to the sector tripling between 2010 and 2019 to reach 3.6 percent of GDP. This remains low by OECD standards, however: OECD countries spend on average a little under 5% of their GDP on education.

14 December 2020

Salome Deisadze

COVID-19 and Food Safety in Georgia

“Food safety risks cannot be entirely eliminated but must be managed along the entire food chain, from farm to table. Reducing food safety risks requires collaboration across sectors, stakeholders and national borders” Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.

07 December 2020

Mariam Tsulukidze

COVID-19 – A Threat but Also an Opportunity for More Decisive Actions Against Climate Change

Covid-19 has exposed many countries to severe healthcare and economic crises, which have disproportionally adversely affected the most vulnerable and low-income parts of society. The current pandemic crisis, however, has also brought some interesting opportunities to light.

ISET Economist Blog

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