ISET Professor Norberto Pignatti was invited by the Leibnitz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies in Regensburg to present his paper, ‘Job market outcomes of IDPs: the case of Georgia’.

ISET Professor Norberto Pignatti recently attended the international IZA/Volkswagen Foundation Workshop: Preferences, Personality Traits, and the Labor Market held in Bertinoro (Italy) on the 6th and 7th of October. Professor Pignatti was invited to present his research about the role of risk preferences in labor market choices in the Georgian labor market.

American and Western European visitors to Georgia are fascinated by the fact that middle-aged Georgian taxi drivers often brandish a couple of engineering degrees, while young hotel receptionists and shop assistants frequently come with law, business, and international relations education. Having spent a couple of days in Tbilisi, visitors may come to imagine that Georgia is so abundant in human capital that entry into these fairly undemanding occupations is extremely competitive.

On Thursday, April 6, ISET hosted Professor Giorgio Brunello, who delivered a seminar for the ISET community. The title of his presentation was “Does Delayed Retirement Affect Youth Employment? Evidence from Italian Provinces”. According to his research, pension reforms that raise the minimum retirement age increase the pool of senior individuals aged 50+ who are not eligible to retire from the labor market.

The labor market is always a hot topic in our country, and debate about it usually overheats as elections approach. Referring to unsatisfactory labor market indicators is always a good way to emphasize the mistakes and/or the inertia of the ruling parties. Another common way to score points is making pre-election promises of increased future employment. One way or another, parties always promise and voters always believe their promises (including unrealistic ones).