Back in 2005, as there was no mobile coverage, my uncle drove dozens of kilometers to the Jvarboseli village in Tusheti to inform me that I had enrolled in university. Now, in 2020, there is still no mobile signal in most Tusheti villages, including Jvarboseli, however, people can use broadband internet to reach out to the world!

The emergence of GVC, global value chains, around more than two decades ago transformed the way economists think about countries’ comparative advantage and specialization in production. It has also transformed the understanding of what it takes for a country to be successfully integrated into world trade networks and derive maximum benefit from global trade.

ISET’s faculty continues to prove itself on the world stage with no fewer than two papers soon to be published in international journals. Both papers were authored by Professor Muhammad Asali, a veteran member of ISET’s faculty and graduate of Colombia University; Muhammad later taught at Colombia, as well as New York University and Union College.

On January 15, ISET had the privilege to host a living economic legend when Professor Erik S. Reinert visited the institute to participate in the Georgian-language launch of his book, How Rich Countries Got Rich, and Why Poor Countries Stay Poor. His work, which was originally published in 2007, has now been published in over twenty languages and remains one of the most widely-discussed economic works of recent years.

Today, around 126 million women are believed to be “missing” around the world due to son preference and gender-biased sex selection (GBSS). Since the 1990s, some areas in the world have seen up to 25% more male birth than female birth (UNFPA Georgia). For example, the sex ratio at birth (SRB) increased from 107 in 1982 to 120 in 2005 in China [while the natural level is 102-106 males per 100 females] (Li, 2007).