Despite arduous government efforts to reduce regional disparities, population and wealth are very unevenly distributed across Georgia’s territory.

In the 1990s, my brother traveled to Georgia with a friend. They were cruising around with an old van, looking for archaeological sites and other cultural heritage.

Members of the same nation have the same “cultural background”, which means that they share a good deal of political and social values and ideals, and they tend to believe in the same recipes to solve their problems.

This week marks the first anniversary of the “ISET Khachapuri Index” in The Financial. During the last 12 months, our faithful readers have followed the ups and the downs of the index and learned many economics lessons in the process.

The National Competitiveness Report (NCR) for Georgia aims to complement the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report by providing an in-depth and comprehensive treatment of competitiveness issues. In particular, it will explore the potential for Georgia to leverage its geographic location and business environment to assume the role of a hub economy in the greater Caucasus region. The overall aim of the project was to generate the first National Competitiveness Report (NCR) for Georgia, following the World Economic Forum's methodology.