The existence of a sizeable shadow (or second, informal) economy in the USSR was and is well-known. The Soviet era was characterized by a very rigid formal system with a high level of bureaucratization and inefficient planning. This resulted in many problems, both in terms of production and consumption. Soviet consumers experienced constant frustration and dissatisfaction caused by endlessly searching for goods and services they demanded, the need to queue for them without any guarantee of getting what they wanted, and the risk of having instead to accept a lower quality version or even to postpone (sometimes indefinitely) the purchase altogether (Kornai 1992).

After a few months of strong GDP growth (November 2013-March 2014) a sharp decline in growth rate to only 2.7% (y-o-y) comes as an unwelcome surprise. According to the national statistics office, the VAT payers’ turnover is down and electricity demand has declined compared to April of last year.

The consultancy aimed to identify training programs that addresses actual labor market demand and devise an algorithm for matching the unemployed with these programs taking account of their skills, work experience and motivation. As part of this project, ISET-PI aimed to identify vocational training programs that address actual labor market demand, and devise an algorithm to assign registered unemployed to these programs (taking account of their skills, work experience and motivation).

Due to the geomorphological characteristics of its territory and to its geographical location, the Re- public of Georgia is rich in hydro resources. According to the Georgian Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, so far Georgia has exploited only about 20% of its hydro resource potential.

On December 5, ISET hosted Levan Akhvlediani, General Manager of Kagri Limited, who delivered a seminar on physical commodity trading, which takes place around the world. According to Mr. Akhvlediani, being a trader is a very demanding job that carries high risk, but at the same time is very interesting.