ISET is pleased to announce the creation of two new need-based scholarships thanks to a generous donation by the Community Project Committee (CPC) from the International Women’s Association-Georgia (IWA Georgia). IWA Georgia is a local NGO that supports children, disabled persons, women, and the elderly, particularly those who are at risk due to poverty, poor health, or other factors.

It is easy to understand what it means for an economy to be weak or strong. We know that a strong economy is characterized by low unemployment and high growth rates. Other desirable traits are, for example, low levels of poverty and income inequality, when all citizens enjoy reasonable standards of living.

Starting from 2005, Georgia saw a rapid decline in tertiary gross enrollment. In a country where poverty reduction is a key priority and where labor market outcomes have not been particularly strong during the last decade, the decline in higher education enrollment might appear as an additional obstacle to human and economic development.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is critical to every developing county, and Georgia is no exception in this regard. Georgia wants to grow out of poverty and catch up with the economically more developed regions of the world – for this to happen, foreign resources are needed, in particular, if the domestic savings rate is as low as in Georgia.

Starting from 2005, Georgia saw a rapid decline in tertiary gross enrollment. This project outlines the potential reasons behind decreasing enrollment rates and discusses the role of institutional changes, wages, returns to education, external and international migration, and employment patterns.