On the 17th of January, the Government of Georgia approved the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) Methodology. This is an incredible step towards evidence-based policy-making that will contribute to the country’s economic development and future prosperity.

On November 15-16, 2019, FREE Network and ISET Policy Institute organized and conducted an international gender economics conference in Tbilisi, Georgia1. The conference brought together researchers, policy-makers, and the broader development community to discuss obstacles to gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, and policies to remove the existing constraints, focusing on Eastern Europe and Emerging Economies.

On January 15, ISET had the privilege to host a living economic legend when Professor Erik S. Reinert visited the institute to participate in the Georgian-language launch of his book, How Rich Countries Got Rich, and Why Poor Countries Stay Poor. His work, which was originally published in 2007, has now been published in over twenty languages and remains one of the most widely-discussed economic works of recent years.

The economic policies of successive Georgian governments have arguably lacked cohesive direction when it comes to inclusive growth. There still remains an open question of whether the overall goal has been to pull people from agriculture or to leave them where they are while pushing productivity up via, for instance, funding the development of cooperatives or clusters. Concurrently, the state also has introduced industrial policies, like establishing SME support agencies that operate under the auspices of different ministries.

ISET Policy Institute is seeking a Data Analyst/Software Developer who will report to the ISET-PI Deputy Director.