BACKGROUND

Economic development of the municipalities (outside capital) is one of the key sustainable development challenges in Georgia. The capital city of Tbilisi, while accounting for nearly 1/3 of the country’s population generates 50% of GDP and keeps expanding, whereas the municipalities, with few exceptions, are losing population and suffering from high incidence of poverty, unemployment, and slow and weak economic development. 55% of the population lives under the poverty line of USD 6.85 a day (in Purchasing Power Parity) and one third is falling back to poverty. While local economic development is key, non-economic factors of poverty and liveability also are critical factors of people’s well-being. What determines the attractiveness of a particular place for businesses and people are not just economic opportunities, but also other factors of “liveability”, embracing aspects related to the social factors, governance, connectivity, and much more. Thus, tracking the indicators of liveability in the municipalities of Georgia will enable to identify progress towards removing constraints to local economic development and various aspects of the well-being of the population. It will also enable local decision-makers and other relevant stakeholders to identify and address priority actions for removing local development challenges. At the same time, it will energize the notion of ‘local competitiveness’ to encourage local governments to deliver more and better for its population and improve environment for local development.

For the complete paper, please refer to the attached policy document (above).