In 1122, King David IV. reconquered Tbilisi from the Muslims. In those times, a bloodbath among the former oppressors would have been the logical consequence of such a victory. Leaders of the High Middle Ages took merciless revenge against their enemies once they had defeated them. Yet David did not! To the contrary, he did not only let the former rulers live, but David was even anxious that the Muslim population might leave Tbilisi after the fall of the city. In order to send a strong signal of appreciation and friendship to the Muslim population, he ex...
ISET Economist Blog
A blog about economics in the South Caucasus.
Jul
05
Jun
26
Baku today is very different from the Baku of my high school years. I remember riding a tram to school. I also remember my high school sharing a building with a vocational school. Nowadays, you will find neither trams nor well functioning vocational schools in Baku. Although I am not sure about the former, there is increasing evidence, both anecdotal and systematic, that Azerbaijan needs to rejuvenate the latter. In this post I argue that prioritizing Vocational Education and Training (VET) reform may prove to be an important step toward tackling the so-...
Jun
21
Regional development policy, defined as aid and assistance given to economically less developed regions, is an issue for almost every country that seeks territorial unity. Putting the arguments of equity or efficiency aside, states with high regional disparities are potentially exposed to the political risk of disintegration. This threat can come from both developed and underdeveloped regions. While more advanced regions are capable of independence and might even decide to strive for secession, weaker ones, especially those bordering unpleasant neighbor-...
Jun
10
[“Dodge or Die” is a series of reports on the relationship between the pedestrian and the motorist in Georgia by Robert Linkous].
As Stephen Dowling put it in his BBC News article a few years ago, “when it comes to crossing the road, there's no such thing as an international standard. Every country does it differently.” How people drive and cross the road, according to Dowling, is a matter of a country’s cultural values. Is it really?
Bad traffic habits are a grave problem in many cities around the world. Yet, while many have managed to largely solve the...
Jun
07
There are many pressing challenges and issues that command the attention of people interested in politics in Georgia. Some of these issues are emotionally charged, and there is not necessarily a consensus across society. However, there is one issue on which there should be a consensus, and it matters tremendously to the Georgian people. This is the issue of unemployment, and more specifically, unemployment numbers. According to a recent survey that CRRC conducted for NDI, Georgians consider unemployment to be the most pressing issue.
The pr...
Our Partners
