On February 12, the Private Sector Development Research Center (PSDRC) at ISET-PI organized a certificate award ceremony for Competition Agency staff who attended an advanced STATA training course provided by the center.

In the first half of February, ISET’s Retail Food Price Index increased by 4.8% y/y (compared to February 2017). On a monthly basis (compared to January 2018), food prices in Tbilisi’s major supermarkets held relatively steady and decreased only slightly by 0.1%. The sharpest bi-weekly price changes were recorded for fruits and vegetables.

ISET Policy Institute (ISET-PI) was established in May 2011 to complement the educational mission of the International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University (ISET). ISET delivers undergraduate and graduate economics education, and is recognized by the World Bank as one of five "centers of excellence" in economics education and research in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union.

Recently, the administration of Tbilisi City Hall announced that the Tbilisi taxi market is going to be regulated. The process of switching to a regulatory frame will be gradual. At first, taxi drivers will be obliged to acquire taxi signs and permission from the appropriate authorities. This regulation is not expected to create significant pressure on taxi service providers. At the second stage, however, taxi drivers will be required to pass a technical inspection and satisfy minimal quality standards.

In January 2018, the average cost of cooking one standard Imeretian Khachapuri dropped to 3.71 GEL, which is 2.9% lower month-on-month (compared to December 2017), and 1.3% higher year-on-year (compared to January 2017).