“The lobby of the Metropole, Moscow's lovingly restored grand hotel a few blocks from Red Square, is almost deserted on this gray spring afternoon. That's just fine with Jeffrey D. Sachs, a boyish-looking 38-year-old Harvard professor who is now probably the most important economist in the world. He has appropriated a cluster of comfortable armchairs for a meeting with two members of his team, Americans who work full time in Russia. The agenda is Russia's safety net or, more precisely, whether unemployed workers will be able to make ends meet. Russia is ...
ISET Economist Blog
A blog about economics in the South Caucasus.
Mar
10
Nov
19
It is that time of year again when our world starts revolving around the World Bank’s Doing Business publication. It is a time when we once more have the chance to brag about how easy it is to start a business in Georgia, about how small the tax burden on businesses is, and about how good we are at enforcing contracts. However, we are unlikely to draw attention to our rank in the Resolving Insolvency indicator, which places us in a bracket alongside countries not necessarily known for their pristine business-enabling environment. Fortunately for Georgia,...
Nov
16
“Why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up” – Thomas Wayne to his son (Batman).
The Georgian Government’s pride and joy of the previous years has been its high standing in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index. Investors, policymakers, and economy-watchers around the world have opened editions of magazines like The Economist to see full-page advertisements about why Georgia is ‘different’ among Post-Soviet countries when it comes to doing business. A line such as “Georgia is different because we are the World Bank’s ...
Recent Comments
A little funny story about Azerbaijan's progress in Doing Business. A few years ago, I was able to benefit from Azerbijan's invest... Read More
Monday, 16 November 2015 12:12 PM
Great article! Cannot agree more on the shortfalls of the methodology, in addition to the parameters you mention and that need to ... Read More
Wednesday, 16 November 2016 4:04 AM
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