With the recent changes in the Georgian government the Partnership Fund has received renewed attention. The fund is now head by two political heavy weights, the former Prime Minister, Nika Gilauri, and the former Minister of Finance, Dima Gvindadze. As the Messenger reports:
The foundation aims to facilitate cooperation between the public and private sector, creating investment projects, jobs, attract foreign investment and generally contribute to the development of the country’s economy. The four priority sectors include energy, agriculture, industry an...
ISET Economist Blog
A blog about economics in the South Caucasus.
Aug
28
Aug
14
Car export was 20.5% of the total exports in 2011 and it had the highest share in total exports, among all export goods. What a striking fact! So, what does this mean for Georgia and how can we become regionally more competitive in car-trade? How can we meet the demand on European, Japanese and US cars in Caucasian and Central Asian markets by becoming a regional trade and transit center for those cars?
Since 2005, car exports have been steadily increasing, in value and as a share of total exports. The correlation between car exports and imports is 0,67...
Aug
07
Competitiveness is an elusive term that can mean different things to different people. Moreover, there is no consensus on how a country can become competitive. For instance, South Korea’s economic breakthrough in 1960s and 1970s was arguably promoted through government-induced investment in (and protection of) particular sectors of the economy (e.g. steel, ship building and electronics) which were deemed to be potentially “competitive”. Alternatively, rather than picking winners (something bureaucrats are said to be bad at), governments could promote com...
Jul
30
Despite arduous government efforts to reduce regional disparities, population and wealth are very unevenly distributed across Georgia’s territory. The largest city, Tbilisi, is pulling scarce human and financial resources away from other major cities, which in turn compete with smaller towns and villages in their immediate locale. Tbilisi’s population is already more than five times larger than that of Kutaisi, the second largest Georgian city (200,000 people). And while no precise data is available the gap is likely to be growing further.
In principle, ...
Jul
25
In the 1990's, my brother traveled in Georgia with a friend. They were cruising around with an old van, looking for archaeological sites and other cultural heritage. Every 10 kilometers they were stopped by police who politely asked for baksheesh. My brother’s friend hated corruption, and, more significantly, had severe difficulties controlling his temper. After this pathetic annoyance was constantly going on for days, he became angry and shouted at the policemen: “Your country is the most rotten place on earth. I will never come back to Georgia and I wi...
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