“…….. Georgia clearly has potential. The country is small (5 million people), and horribly poor (even today, average income is below $4,000 per year). If Georgians could just become as rich as Croatia, they too could start beating England at Wembley.” – Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski, Soccernomics, (2006, p.287)
“Football was born in England, grew to Brazil and died in Georgia” – a well-known joke about Georgian football.
This summer, Russia is again at the epicenter of the world, but this time for hosting the 21st FIFA World Cup football tourna...
ISET Economist Blog
A blog about economics in the South Caucasus.
Jul
02
Jun
13
WHO BOASTS, AND WHY?
As argued by Omer Moav and Zvika Neeman in a 2012 paper (Moav taught at ISET in the past), boasting is a way to pretend that one has hidden income (“Saving Rates and Poverty: The Role of Conspicuous Consumption and Human Capital”, Economic Journal 122, pp. 933-956). While people may have a rough idea of the incomes of their neighbors, colleagues, friends, and other people they interact with, they usually do not know exactly how much they make. Hence, there is some wiggle room for speculation, and if one sees a colleague coming to wor...
Recent Comments
A more obvious explanation may be that this is even more evidence that reported Georgian incomes are meaningless, as anyone lookin... Read More
Monday, 18 May 2015 5:05 PM
Randy, do you want to suggest that the $300 per capita GDP are highly inaccurate and the true income is much higher?
Monday, 18 May 2015 5:05 PM
All very plausible; the examples from evolution are persuasive and might well apply to humans too. However, poor countries also ha... Read More
Monday, 18 May 2015 7:07 PM
May
23
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Georgian nation went through a process of rapid dis-investment and de-industrialization. It was forced to shut down industrial plants, sending scrap metal abroad, and workers into subsistence farming. Hunger has never become an issue thanks to the country’s moderate climate and good soil conditions, yet inequality and associated political pressures rapidly reached catastrophic dimensions, unleashing cycles of violence, undermining the political order and inhibiting prospects of economic growth.
* &nb...
Recent Comments
Thanks for an excellent summary. One quibble : I do not agree that fair distribution of resources is always an obvious trade-off a... Read More
Thursday, 26 May 2016 10:10 AM
Dear Pratik, I certainly agree, to a CERTAIN EXTENT. It is easy to overshoot with free healthcare and education policies. Too much... Read More
Thursday, 26 May 2016 2:02 PM
Thanks, Eric. And I think we will agree there is a flip side too? As seen in US, where absence of universal health care system has... Read More
Friday, 27 May 2016 6:06 PM
May
16
Having just celebrated its 25th anniversary as an independent state, Georgia remains in a state of revolutionary flux. Just like a box of chocolate, this beautiful country is full of contrasting flavors, never losing the ability to surprise and fascinate at every twist and turn of its history.
Most paradoxically, while Georgia’s unprecedented reforms have become an export commodity, many Georgian reformers and revolutionaries are wanted at home for abusing the power of their office. Georgia’s laws and institutions continue to be constantly remodele...
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