
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.

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.

For the first quarter of 2025, business confidence in Georgia decreased (by 8.8 index points) and reached -5.0. The highest decrease in business confidence is observed in the service (-21.5) sector. The negative change in BCI for Q1 2025 was driven by decreased past performance as well as pessimistic expectations.

The political and social turmoil surrounding the 26 October parliamentary elections and their aftermath have significant implications for Georgia's business environment. The prolonged polarization, government-led violence against protesters, and the suspension of EU accession talks create uncertainty that can negatively influence the economic climate in multiple ways.

PMCG and ISET Policy Institute organized a validation workshop for their joint research project "Sub-sector/Value Chain Analysis for Georgian SME Export Growth." The event took place on November 14, 2024, at the Courtyard by Marriott in Tbilisi.