24
June
2017
After the Rose Revolution, in the name of of economic growth, the Georgian government set aside environmental issues and focused on a quick economic recovery. This is understandable, as the Georgian economy was still recovering from the collapse of the early 90’s, and the pressure to accelerate the process was high. At that time, the existing environmental regulations were perceived as an additional constraint to faster growth, and as potentially fertile ground for corruption.
22
June
2017
On June 22, 2017, the Agricultural Policy Research Center (APRC) of the ISET Policy Institute organized a meeting with former Agricultural Concentration students. As is well-known, the APRC was established at the ISET Policy Institute in July 2014 with a three-year grant from USAID to enhance synergy between policy research, professional training, and teaching activities, capitalizing on the institutional strengths of ISET and ISET-PI.
20
June
2017
Geostat has released its GDP growth estimate for the first quarter of 2017. The Q1 growth rate now stands at 5.1%, which is 1.6% above ISET-PI’s last forecasted value. Moreover, the average growth rate for the first five months of the year amounted to 4.5%.
20
June
2017
According to the preliminary statistics released by GeoStat, Georgia’s GDP in Q1 of 2017 grew by 5.0% YoY – the highest growth rate since Q3 2014. What lies behind such spectacular growth numbers? First and foremost, it stems from the genuine improvement in the economic situation in the region, which has resulted in increased exports, FDI, tourism, and remittances. Secondly, the sharp increase in the growth rate in December 2016 “lifted” the GDP base and allowed normal GDP improvements to look even better compared to last year’s levels.
20
June
2017
ISET continues its student policy paper seminar series for the institute's (now graduated) second-year students. This time, Tatia Sosiashvili, Megi Tsikoridze, Nino Aladashvili, and Sopo Basilidze presented their joint paper on tax administration in Georgia. Their project, entitled “Current Challenges in Tax Administration (VAT)”, was supervised by Eric Livny, President of ISET and the ISET Policy Institute, and Sophiko Skhirtladze, an ISET Resident Faculty member and head of the Private Sector Development Policy Research Center.
