Any observer of the Georgian economy would probably agree that the country has too many people employed (or, rather, under-employed) in agriculture. Historically, many countries have experienced a secular decline in the share of employment (and GDP) related to the agricultural sector. Yet, Georgia has seen limited structural change out of agriculture (other than, perhaps, into seasonal or permanent labor migration).
ISET Policy Institute was contracted by the OECD to assess selected policy dimensions of the EU Small Business Act for Georgia. In order to complete this task, ISET-PI conducted desk research of the existing literature and conducted interviews with government officials, private sector representatives and members of the SME community, including civil society.
The Georgian economy’s growth rate appeared to slow down in September. According to Gaostat’s rapid estimates forecast, the real growth of GDP decreased to 4.1%. This estimate is the lowest this year since April when the growth rate fell to 2.7%. The ISET Leading Economic Indicators index warned about a possible slowdown of the economy in the third quarter, citing, in particular, the significant decline in exports that began in August 2014.
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.