These are Georgian churchkhela, a kind of national candy made from a string of walnut halves dipped in grape juice thickened with flour (Tatara or Phelamushi) and dried in the sun. There are essentially 2-3 kinds of Churchkhela. Somebody may be better in making them, somebody worse, but all in all, it is the same stuff sold all over Georgia.

On April 8, representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) presented their Transition Report at ISET. EBRD’s lead economist for Georgia, Bojan Markovic, spoke about the reform progress and economic developments in the year 2013 across the wider transition region, which includes Georgia.

After many years on the back burner of the policy discussion in Georgia, issues related to agriculture and rural development now seem to be at the forefront of debate. And for good reason, as these issues are incredibly complex and have important implications, not only for those residing in rural areas but also for those purchasing agricultural products in towns and cities.

According to a rumor circulating among economists, there exists an econometric study that shows that the economy of a nation is doing worse the more great economists it produces. While this may be a myth, casual observation suggests that the correlation between the economic performance of a country and the quality of its economics profession is indeed unclear.

At the end of Act 2 of Bertolt Brecht’s Three-Penny-Opera, the proletarian petty criminal Macheath, and his prostitute Jenny reply to the bourgeois representatives of the establishment urging them to uphold moral standards: “First comes a full stomach, then comes ethics!” This aphorism echoes the widely held contention that ethical behavior is a privilege of those who have satisfied their material needs.