ISET-PI played a relatively minor role in this project, supporting a consortium consisting of Ecorys (Netherlands) and CASE (Poland). The study was commissioned by the European Commission (DG Trade). The Georgian component of the study identified considerable compliance costs related to the EU-required phyto and veterinary controls, reflected in higher prices for meat and meat products, and an increase in EU meat exports to Georgia. These findings were reported to the Georgian Prime Minister’s office and to the consortium members.
While the cost of producing a film has indeed gone down and the world film market is indeed more open than ever, there is still an insurmountable obstacle in the way. The film industry is characterized by positive externalities, that is, the more films a country is producing, the easier it is to produce a film.
Recently, I attended a show by the famous Erisioni dancing group, which was performing in Georgia for the first time after two years of constant traveling abroad. The Georgian dancers in traditional costumes were sensational, but as an economist, a minor incident caught my attention nearly as much as the Erisioni ensemble.
Implemented as part of a larger international study, this Georgia country study assessed the consequences of increased migration as a result of possible changes in the EU migration policies with regard to the Eastern Partnership countries. Partnering with the Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE), the ISET Policy Institute (ISET-PI) has embarked upon a country study of Georgia for a project titled The Costs and Benefits of Labour Mobility between the EU and the Eastern Partnership Partner Countries.