This quarterly report provides an analysis of economic trends, as well as denoting the challenges and opportunities (in local, regional, and global contexts) in the selected value chains within six sectors to improve evidence-based decision-making by providing quality information and analytics. These specific sectors are tourism, creative industries, light manufacturing, shared intellectual services, waste management, and recycling, along with cross-cutting sectors.

The Gender Impact Assessment (GIA) of the Models for the Implementation of the Equal Pay Review and Reporting (EPRR) Methodology in Georgia was conducted by the ISET Policy Institute (ISET-PI) as part of its collaboration with UN Women within the scope of the project “Regulatory Impact Assessment and Gender Impact Assessment for Women’s Economic Empowerment in Georgia”.

Consumer confidence decreases over the summer. After the upward trend observed starting in April, consumer confidence fell in July and August to almost equal levels, with a slight increase in August. In July, the overall index decreased by 2.3 points, from -32.1 in June to -34.4 in July. In August, it slightly increased to -34.2.

Natural resources, such as land, water, air, minerals, forests, and fisheries, all provide fundamental life support, in the form of both public-good and consumptive services, which also greatly affect the quality of human life. As such, a proper Natural Resource Management (NRM) allows for the sustainable utilization of resources and moreover ensures that the services provided continue to be accessible over time.

Recently, Geostat has released the preliminary estimate of real GDP growth for the second quarter of 2021, which now stands at 29.9%. The real GDP growth rate reached 9.9% year-on-year in July 2021. Consequently, the estimated real GDP for the first seven months of 2021 amounted to 12.2%.