Both Georgia and Armenia have been subject to negative external economic shocks, particularly through remittances and exports, in 2014 and 2015, yet the macroeconomic adjustment of the countries appears to have been different. While the GDP growth of both countries remained relatively stable at around 3% in both years, the exchange rate of the Georgian Lari (GEL) depreciated by a 29% in 2014-2015 compared to 15% for the Armenian Dram (AMD).

Casinos, totalizators, and other gambling institutions are very popular in Georgia. According to the study “Gambling in Georgia – Second Report,” conducted by Transparency International Georgia in 2015, 6% of 1867 randomly interviewed people answered “yes” to the question of whether they or their family members were engaged in gambling for money, including online. This figure, in my opinion, is too low, underestimating the potential engagement in gambling among Georgians.

In October 2016, the average cost of cooking one standard portion of Imeretian Khachapuri was 3.39 GEL, which is 1% lower month-on-month (compared to September 2016), and 6.1% lower year-on-year (compared to the same month of the previous year, October 2015).

ISET’s international experiences are continuing to diversify, as APRC researchers gave a series of presentations at the “Regional and International Cooperation in Central Asia and South Caucasus: Recent Developments in Agricultural Trade” conference which took in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, between November 1-4.

Georgian retail prices increased at the end of October. Driven by seasonal fruits and vegetables, ISET’s Retail Food Price index gained 2.2% m/m (compared to the last week of September). However, compared to October 2015, we still observed a significant 13.5% decline in food prices.