How can a society become more prosperous? This question has been on the minds of economists and policymakers for centuries. More than two hundred years ago, Adam Smith wrote that “little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest barbarism but peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice, all the rest being brought about by the natural course of things.” Yet, still today, many societies around the world are characterized not by peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice, but by c...
ISET Economist Blog
A blog about economics in the South Caucasus.
Jan
11
Jan
09
A bit of history:
In 1905, Max Weber, in his masterpiece, “The Protestant Ethics and Spirit of Capitalism”, proposed an interesting hypothesis which claimed that Protestantism, Calvinism and Puritan ethics influenced development of capitalism. Since, Catholic Church rejected worldly affairs and constantly preached for its parish that the goal of existence is afterlife rather than life itself, it also implied rejection of pursuit of wealth and possession. Starting from the 17th century, emergence of various Protestant church movements, first in Engla...
Dec
22
This blog post is a sequel to “Price of a Woman: Economic Rationale behind Marriage Payments in Georgia”. I recently found very interesting data about bride prices in the Georgian highlands and the North Caucasus, which I am now going to share with you.
Payment to a bride's parents was widespread in the Georgian highlands and the North Caucasus. This custom was rooted in local traditions and everyone obeyed it. Bride prices were either paid in money or its equivalent in livestock, most commonly in oxen. The price would vary according to the social standi...
Dec
14
“Don’t rush to judgment on Georgia” was the title of a recent article by Michael Cecire in Foreign Policy (FP). Written in an apparent reaction to “Georgian Dream shows its dark side” (FP, November 29), and “Georgia’s government takes a wrong turn” (Washington Post, November 28), Cecire’s piece attempts to provide a more objective account of the situation. According to Cecire, “the Western outcry has been much too hasty. Ultimately, it's not the arrests [of senior UNM officials] themselves that will test the new government's commitment to democratic idea...
Nov
28
If you follow modern Georgian electronic media, you have definitely noticed a strange tendency of publishing news pieces based on people’s posts and status updates on Facebook. Besides Georgian journalists’ determination to free ride, this points to the fact that Facebook has become an important platform to express one’s opinion on political and social issues. In fact, a recent Pew Internet & American Life Project study finds that 37% of electronic social network users post political material at least occasionally and that 75% of social networking si...
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