We are honored and delighted to announce that the BA and MA in economics programs of the International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University (ISET) are now officially accredited by the international quality assurance agency, FIBAA. As a result of this achievement, ISET’s degree programs are presently the only internationally accredited programs in Georgia within the field of economics.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), aims to promote decent work for all and to ensure fundamental protections and rights to domestic

ISET’s is pleased to announce that two of our lead economists, Yasya Babych and Luc Leruth, have teamed up to create their latest blog (Balancing ‘Maintenance’ and ‘Investment’) alongside Christiane Roehler, a Senior Economist at IMF. Their blog is currently available directly on the IMF’s blog platform.

In a recent ISET Economist blog post, Luc Leruth explores the notion of a spatial fracture in Georgia. He wonders whether people will become accustomed to working remotely, with the COVID crisis having given them this fresh opportunity. If so, this could help decrease the strain on Tbilisi infrastructure by slowing down migration to the capital. Will COVID, unexpectedly, convince people to continue working remotely and settle outside Tbilisi in the countryside?

Geostat has released its GDP growth estimate for the first quarter of 2021. The Q1 growth stands at -4.2%, which is 1.2 percentage points above the recent ISET-PI forecast. ISET-PI’s forecast of real GDP growth for the second quarter of 2021 stands at 12.2% -up from 11% in April. The third-quarter growth forecast currently stands at 3.3%.