Three ISET MA students have received need-based scholarships from the Policy and Management Consulting Group (PMCG), an international development consulting company, and a long-time friend and partner of ISET.

The interviewed sample in early May, of around 350 Georgians (Table 1 below summarizes the demographic background of the sampled population), reveals that Georgian Consumer Confidence rose in May compared to the prior month, by 8.1 index points, from -48.3 in April to -40.2 in May. This follows rapid declines in the index in March and April.

In Avchala, in the middle of nowhere, you might be surprised to find the busy “Craftsmen’s City” or “Khelosnebis Kalaki” as it is called in Georgian. It is built on a 4-ha plot where there used to be a large carpet manufacturing plant in Soviet times, which vanished with the Soviet Union and turned into a concrete carcass surrounded by a swamp.

The estimated real GDP declined by 16.6% in April 2020 yearly and by 3.6 percent in the first four months of 2020. In April, the estimated real growth compared to the same period of the previous year posted negative in almost all activities, except mining and quarrying. Moreover, VAT payers’ turnover, used in rapid estimations of economic growth, dropped by 32.8% annually over the same period.

The average cost of cooking one standard Imeretian Khachapuri in May 2020 stood at 4.18 GEL; 6.8% lower month-on-month compared to April. However, the Khachapuri Index did increase by 24.9% year-on-year (compared to May 2019). At this time of the year, the monthly downward trend in the Index is typically driven by a seasonal decline in cheese prices (due to the increased supply of fresh milk and a resulting lower demand for imported milk powder).