The rental price index registered the sharpest annual decline in November 2014. Average rental and sale prices in Tbilisi continue to follow their long run trends. Average rental prices in Gldani-Nadzaladevi and Isani-Samgori have converged for two consecutive months.

On November 6, Vice President for Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Laura Tuck, Regional Director for the South Caucasus Henry Kerali, Program Leader for the South Caucasus Rashmi Shankar and other representatives of the World Bank Tbilisi Office visited ISET.

When Armenia entered the Russia-dominated customs union in 2013, fear spread among the Georgian public and policymakers. It looked as if Georgia would be economically squeezed in between Russia and Armenia, the latter being one of Russia’s staunchest allies in the region and, given its geopolitical dependency on Russia, sometimes seen as a little more than a Russian agent.

ISET Policy Institute was contracted by UNICEF to revise the Needs Index and upgrade it to reflect current reality. Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Affairs of Georgia, the Social Service Agency, and UNICEF are in the process of refining the social service protection system in Georgia to make it more child-sensitive.

A few days ago, I was walking in Kostava Street towards the Philharmony when I passed a construction site that was separated from the sidewalk by a wooden fence. Suddenly, I heard the ugly sound of fabric torn apart. Yes, it had happened! My nice winter coat was ripped up by a rusty nail that stuck out of the fence, causing a huge hole in the coat that went down to the lining.