ISET Policy Institute was contracted by International Republican Institute (IRI) to provide expert consultation to Georgian political parties and assist them in developing/updating party economic platforms in the run-up to the Parliamentary Elections 2020.

The consequences of COVID-19 on tourism and in the industrial and service sectors have been discussed broadly recently. However, little has been said about the current and future implications on the Georgian power sector. The worldwide pandemic has already had and is still expected to have, quite significant implications on both the demand and supply sides of the electricity market. Although at this stage, we cannot estimate the exact scale of the effects, it is possible to represent a general theoretical framework of the existing and potential impacts.

In April 2020 Consumer Confidence reached the lowest level ever recorded, driven by severe deterioration in expectations about the future. Notably, the present situation index component of CCI stands slightly higher than during the regional currency crisis and lari devaluation episode in May-November 2015.

From April to July, ISET will lead an online training program in Regulatory Impact Assessment aimed at equipping the members of participating institutions with the required technical skills and understanding of the procedures associated with carrying out the RIA in accordance with the methodology set out by the government of Georgia in January 2020.

This paper analyses income distribution and poverty reduction in Georgia in the period 2010 to 2017/2018. As we have no data for 2019, our findings do not relate to the most recent distributional policies of the Georgian government. Our results suggest that while Georgia has substantially reduced poverty and income inequality, continuous monitoring of the situation would be helpful.