Evacuation is one of the most frequently used words in Georgian TV in the last two weeks, arguably due to an inflation of fibber bomb warnings. Rustavi 2, Imedi, Parliament, airport, bank offices, and schools – all were targeted by these macabre hoaxes.
In the Georgian fairy tale of Liar Shepherd, the young boy lied twice that wolfs were coming. When finally wolfs were really coming, no one believed him anymore. This is one of the main risks of bomb hoaxes – they may lead to something one might call “terrorism fatigue”.
Recently, I spoke with somebody wh...
ISET Economist Blog
A blog about economics in the South Caucasus.
Sep
30
Sep
27
In the very first class on the Principles of Economics we teach our students how beneficial trade is. We explain that voluntary exchange (trade) increases overall welfare and is mutually beneficial. Economists tend to regard this basic “principle of economics” as an axiom, providing the basis for many other principles of economics and, most importantly, the notion (or fallacy) that “the markets know best”…
Perhaps paradoxically, despite the many beneficial features of trade, merchants (i.e. professional traders), rarely enjoy social esteem. One reason fo...
Sep
23
Measuring economic developments is often a laborious business. Consider, for example, the Consumer Price Index (CPI). One first has to define the so called consumption basket that contains the goods and services whose prices you want to track. These goods and services have to be represented in the basket in the right proportions, reflecting the consumption patterns of an average consumer. Unfortunately, consumption habits change over time, and product characteristics change even more. A personal computer 10 years ago is obviously a very different object ...
Sep
21
Few events in Georgian history had consequences that were as far-reaching as the infamous Treaty of Georgievsk of 1783. In the end of the 18th century, Erekle II. (1720-1798) handed over his kingdom of Kakheti and Kartli to the Russians, aligning the fates of Georgia and Russia for the next two centuries. In the middle of what today is called the Age of Imperialism, when European countries, including Russia, were dividing the globe among themselves, Georgia was offered to Catherine the Great on a plate. Of course, she did not reject.
Being a colony of a ...
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