05
June
2016
In Central Europe, vocational education and training (VET) has a tradition that reaches back to medieval times. To become, say, a baker in 14th century Germany, one had to go through an apprenticeship of two years, working and learning in an existing bakery, where one was guided and supervised by a meister (master craftsman). The apprenticeship was standardized and – if successful – ended with the conferment of a certificate and admission to the baker’s guild.
02
June
2016
Georgian retail food prices are up 1.1% y-o-y (May 2016 vs. May 2015) and 1.0% down m-o-m (compared to last month). Compared to mid-May, cheese, apple and carrot experienced the biggest price declines of 8.5%, 8.4 %, and 7.1%, respectively. The prices of cabbage, buckwheat, and peach are up by 8.3%, 8.3%, and 7.1%, respectively.
30
May
2016
One of the first things tourists in Georgia notice is how crazy that drive from the airport to the city is. Jumping red lights, breaking rules to take over the jeep in front, the Georgian taxi driver risks his (and not only his!) life to deliver his passenger to the destination. As a distraction from the dangerous ride, the driver might offer the famous “dzhigit” (a brave equestrian) joke: a dzhigit passes on the red light but stops on the green – in case another dzhigit is crossing the road.
27
May
2016
On May 25, APRC researcher Ia Katsia attended a working meeting organized by Geostat, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food, and the Agriculture Organization. The aim of the meeting was to update the data on recent and pending changes in the Sample Survey of Agricultural Holdings and review the results of the 2014 Agricultural Census 2014.
23
May
2016
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Georgian nation went through a process of rapid disinvestment and de-industrialization. It was forced to shut down industrial plants, sending scrap metal abroad, and workers into subsistence farming. Hunger has never become an issue thanks to the country’s moderate climate and good soil conditions, yet inequality and associated political pressures rapidly reached catastrophic dimensions, unleashing cycles of violence, undermining the political order, and inhibiting prospects of economic growth.
