Wages and productivity levels differ across countries. For instance, in 2011 the average yearly income in the US was about $53 000, whilst the same indicator was $250 in Madagascar.

How can a society become more prosperous? This question has been on the minds of economists and policymakers for centuries.

In 1905, Max Weber, in his masterpiece, “The Protestant Ethics and Spirit of Capitalism”, proposed an interesting hypothesis which claimed that Protestantism, Calvinism, and Puritan ethics influenced the development of capitalism.

We were not off to a good start in 2012. On 20 January, we lost our dear Mzia Mikeladze. Her sudden passing away has shaken the entire ISET community but life had to continue… We created a memorial fund and a special scholarship to encourage young ISET students to remember Mzia and to follow in her footsteps.

This is the last issue of the Khachapuri Index column in 2012 (#44 this year and #74 overall since the project’s launch in June 2011). Therefore, we would like to wish our readers many causes for the magnificent Georgian supra in the new 2013, with a lot of khachapuri and wine.