According to a nationally representative sample of 307 Georgians interviewed in early November 2018, the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) dropped by 4 index points, from -18 in October to -22 in November. A similar pattern was observed in both sub-indices: the Present Situation Index went down by 4.7 (from -22.6 to -27.3), and the Expectations Index went down by 3.2 index points (from -13.4 to -16.6) compared to October.

On December 10-11, ISET’s APRC team organized a comprehensive stakeholder dialogue to discuss the interim results of the RIA on draft Law on Windbreaks. The two-day workshop gathered representatives of the Agrarian Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, municipalities, the private sector (principally in the form of farmers), international donors (IFAD, GIZ), and various NGOs.

On Thursday, December 6, the Deputy Head of the Agricultural Policy Research Center (APRC) Irakli [Rati] Kochlamazashvili, presented the ‘Georgia’s Beef Market Review’ at the kick-off workshop of the USDA funded Georgia Food for Progress (GFP) project on Livestock Sector Development in Georgia.

Did you know what Georgia produces most and what the share of its production worldwide is? Wine and copper seem the obvious answers – but these would be wrong. The answer is, in fact, cryptocurrency: 15% of all Bitcoins in the world are mined in Georgia, perhaps a disproportionate figure given the country’s small size.

On December 3, ISET BA students visited the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNERC). Revaz Geradze, Deputy Director of the Natural Gas Department, introduced the students to the mission of the GNERC and gave a presentation about the Investments Appraisal Rule, the objective of which is to develop the main principles and criteria for drafting, submitting, evaluating, approving and monitoring the investment projects for tariff setting purposes with regards to the electricity and natural gas sectors.