On Friday, November 10, the National Bank of Georgia held a meeting with second-year students of ISET’s MA Programme. During the meeting, the students were introduced to the structure of the National Bank, its main objectives, and responsibilities.

The head of the Department of Financial Stability, Zviad Zedginidze, explained the main duties of the National Bank and the ways in which it functions. Mr. Zedginidze talked about the necessity of communication and transparency in the economic policy of the Bank, and its efforts to raise public awareness of its activities in order to potentially minimize welfare costs. Mr. Zedgindize mentioned the importance of using advanced analytical methods in practical work, which the Bank believes will improve its standing amongst the public.

In addition, he talked about modern trends regarding recent interests in relationships between the real and financial sectors after the global economic crisis. During the meeting, there was a discussion about different issues, such as the methods of determining the optimal level of targeted inflation, and the existing tradeoff between exchange rate volatility and price stability in the short and long runs.

Davit Utiashvili, the head of the Financial Risks and Macro-Prudential Policy Division, discussed the issues regarding exchange rates, such as the ways of establishing the exchange rate and the reasons for its high volatility. Mr. Utiashvili also explained the latest macroeconomic trends and the information transmission mechanism from the National Bank to the public.

The meeting gave the students a deeper understanding of the practical effects of theoretical concepts.