On December 12-14, two ISET-PI researchers, Maka Chitanava and Giorgi Mzhavanadze attended the Good Jobs for Inclusive Growth in Central Asia and South Caucasus study finalization conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This study was commissioned by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and implemented by eight Central Asian and South Caucasus countries.

The aim of the conference was to finalize the study’s report and discuss policy options to achieve inclusive economic growth by promoting the creation of good jobs. Participants included country experts, international experts, and ADB staff. Country experts from national think tanks presented key findings of their work, trends related to inclusive growth, employment, labor market policies, and ways for development partners to assist with creating better conditions for enabling inclusive growth in each country.

In addition, international experts and ADB staff shared the findings of selected thematic issues and discussed the key directions to formulate policy options for each country. Presented work covered the topics of spatial inequality and other structural inequalities, labor market policies, common region-wide features affecting employment, and policy framework, in particular: private sector and SME development, informal economies, taxation, and transfers. Special attention was given to the agriculture sector and self-employment.