28
June
2013
The Georgian economy faces many challenges, not least of which is access to finance and the extremely high cost of financing private enterprises. With the cost of borrowing (real interest rate) reaching 17.3% on average in April 2013, businesses find it very difficult to function, let alone invest in innovative technologies, long-term growth, and development.
21
June
2013
Regional development policy, defined as aid and assistance given to economically less developed regions, is an issue for almost every country that seeks territorial unity. Putting the arguments of equity or efficiency aside, states with high regional disparities are potentially exposed to the political risk of disintegration.
17
June
2013
There has been a lively debate on current account (CA) imbalances around the world. Georgia is not an exception with its politicians and economists often complaining about Georgia’s current account deficits (see Figure 1) and discussing potential ways of reducing or even eliminating them without actually reasoning why one should do so.
14
June
2013
Khudoni, Georgia’s largest hydropower investment project, is again making the headlines. According to a recent statement by Georgia’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Kakha Kaladze, the project will be put on hold at least until March 1, 2014.
10
June
2013
In Georgia, there is a clear policy trade-off between having smaller local self-government units (LSGs), which would be closer to voters and service users, and the higher overall costs of a larger number of LSGs. In November, 2012, the Georgian Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure (MRDI) began to design a major policy initiative to reform the existing system of sub-national government in Georgia.
