10
February
2017
According to the preliminary statistics released by GeoStat, Georgia’s real GDP growth was 2.2% year over year (YoY) in 2016. This result fell behind the World Bank’s, IMF’s, and EBRD’s last growth projections of 3.4%. The NBG’s 3.5% growth projection from November also overestimated Georgia’s economic growth in 2016.
06
February
2017
“The type of failure we’re talking about is like how frogs lay 20,000 eggs so a few wind up as adults sitting on a lily pad sucking down mosquito dinners” is how the author of the recent Newsweek article describes the rate of failure it takes to breed a handful of unicorns-tech startups valued at more than $1 billion.
06
February
2017
ISET takes pride in its diverse international community and uses every chance to celebrate it. The international tea party hosted in the cafeteria was an excellent illustration of this tradition. On February 6, ISET students from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Japan, and Iran took over ISET's cafeteria to host the community with tasty delights of their home countries.
04
February
2017
Unofficial (partial) dollarization describes a situation when a foreign currency is used alongside the domestic currency for transactions purposes and as a store value. High partial dollarization is not good for a country, as it ties the hands of its Central Bank when it wants to use monetary policy. In a highly dollarized economy, national currency depreciation can even lead to financial instability.
03
February
2017
On February 3, 2017, Eric Livny, President of ISET and the ISET Policy Institute, held a working meeting with the newly-appointed chairman of the Competition Agency of Georgia, Mr. Nodar Khaduri, who is also a co-director of the newly-accredited ISET BA Program.