On December 14-16 ISET Policy Institute representatives participated in an inception workshop organized by the Asian Development Bank in Bangkok, Thailand. This workshop was held in the scope of the study on “Good Jobs for Inclusive Growth in Central and West Asia” (GJIG study).

We have recently updated the GDP series (the dependent variable in our model), using the revised GDP growth rates available from Geostat. Based on the new data, the forecast for GDP growth in the fourth quarter now stands at 3.5%.

Although the mining sector of Georgia only accounts for a small share of GDP, around one quarter of Georgia’s total exports are related to mining activities. Increased use of Georgia’s natural resources thus has the potential to benefit the economic development of the country as well as to contribute to public finances.

According to the most recent statistics, the Georgian economy is showing signs of stabilization in the last quarter of 2015. Economic growth increased to 3% year on year in October – about the same as the estimated average real GDP growth rate (2.8%) for the first ten months of 2015.

Retail food prices, as measured by ISET-PI’s FPI, increased by 0.4% in early December compared to mid-November. Prices are also up 2.2% year-on-year (y-o-y, that is compared to the December 2014). The largest increases were registered for eggplants (up 76%), cucumbers (52.1%) and greens (16.2%).