After independence from the Soviet Union, Georgia started experiencing a significant rise in the number of boys born compared with the number of girls, the sex ratio at birth. As of 2004 Georgia had one of the highest sex ratio at birth rates in the world, but by 2016 the ratio was at the biologically normal level. The country’s unique position provides valuable knowledge and experience.

The study analyzes pecuniary economic costs and benefits associated with new policies on maternity, paternity, and parental leave in Georgia, using a state-of-the-art methodology utilized in EU member countries.

On 28 November, the Georgian Central Election Commission (CEC) will hold the second round of the very last direct presidential election in Georgia before the constitutional pivot to indirect elections. This is the last stage of a political reform aiming at replacing the presidential political arrangement with the parliamentary system. The president’s powers in the new system will be extremely limited and largely symbolic.

This summer, Russia is again at the epicenter of the world, but this time for hosting the 21st FIFA World Cup football tournament and not for the occupation of its neighboring countries’ territories. The majority of the world’s population is gripped by football fever, and Georgians are no exception. You can see random people on the streets wearing the jersey of their favorite nation. Students attend classes wearing jerseys or football T-shirts.

The unique cross-country study compares interest rates for a set of retail credit products in Georgia and select transition economies. Preliminary findings suggest that the cost of credit in Georgia is lower than in the CIS countries which have been covered by the survey (namely, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine and in many cases Armenia) while it’s somewhat higher compared to a cohort of Central and Eastern European Countries (CEE) - this is true especially for local currency loans.