20
March
2025
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.
03
March
2025
The Media Polarization Index remained high in February, influenced by restrictive laws that suppress demonstrations, controversial regulations affecting the media, and a Foreign Agents Registration Act-like (FARA) law. In addition, significant events such as a major tragedy in Batumi, heavy snowfall in Guria, and developments in Trump's foreign policy contributed to the polarized environment.
24
February
2025
Giorgi Papava, Lead Economist and Practice Head for private sector development policy at ISET Policy Institute, represented Georgia at the prestigious International Scientific Conference "Distributed Profit Taxation – Polish and worldwide perspective" on December 9, 2024, at the SGH Warsaw School of Economics in Poland.
24
February
2025
This policy brief examines the role of business confidence as a predictor of economic development. It focuses on the impact of recent political instability and economic uncertainty, drawing insights from both Georgian data and international experience.
17
January
2025
This note provides an overview of recent developments regarding Georgia’s foreign exchange Gross International Reserves (GIR), offers insights into some aspects of reserve adequacy, and central bank’s safeguards principles in the context of heightened political uncertainties. It appears that the GIR are likely inadequate to withstand prolonged political uncertainties. Furthermore, the National Bank of Georgia's (NBG) governance and regulatory frameworks are not presently equipped to counter these challenges.
