There are many possibilities for how to increase the productivity of the Georgian agricultural sector. Experts suggest upgrading knowledge and technologies, promoting collaboration among farmers, and coping with the land fragmentation problem, to name just a few of the ideas circulating in the debate.

On October 23, 2013 ISET hosted a strategic dialogue on Georgia’s national competitiveness. Eric Livny, ISET’s Director, opened the dialog with a brief presentation of the major changes in Georgia’s competitiveness performance in the 2012/13 Global Competitiveness Report. Georgia improved from 77th to 72nd position; the country saw the largest improvement in the macroeconomic environment while doing slightly worse in the labor market, healthcare, and primary education pillars.

Measuring economic developments is often a laborious business. Consider, for example, the Consumer Price Index (CPI). One first has to define the so-called consumption basket that contains the goods and services whose prices you want to track. These goods and services have to be represented in the basket in the right proportions, reflecting the consumption patterns of an average consumer.

ISET-PI collaborated with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on a three-day training workshop (2-4 September) to review the best international practices in measuring and monitoring the soundness of a country's financial sector. The event brought together NBG and GeoStat officials together with ISET researchers to facilitate improvements in the Georgian system of financial soundness indicators.

The ISET Policy Institute collaborated with the Association of Young Professionals in the Energy Sector of Georgia (AYPEG) on a training course targeting junior staff of the newly created Analytical Department within the Ministry of Energy of Georgia, Electricity Sector Commercial Operator (ESCO), and Georgian State Electro system (GSE). A total of 17 participants from these three organizations participated in the course.