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ISET Economist Blog

A blog about economics in the South Caucasus.
Jun
14

Khudoni and Georgia’s Energy Policy Dilemma: Go Green or Go Greedy

Khudoni, Georgia’s largest hydropower investment project, is again making the headlines.  According to a recent statement by Georgia’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Kakha Kaladze, the project will be put on hold at least until March 1, 2014. To give readers a bit of context, Khudoni’s planned capacity is in excess of 700 MW; its annual generation potential stands at about 1,5 TW/h, dwarfing other hydropower projects currently under MoUs with international investors. If built, Khudoni would be the second largest HPP in Georgia after Enguri...
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Jun
10

An Economist’s Comment on “Dodge or Die” on the Streets of Tbilisi

[“Dodge or Die” is a series of reports on the relationship between the pedestrian and the motorist in Georgia by Robert Linkous]. As Stephen Dowling put it in his BBC News article a few years ago, “when it comes to crossing the road, there's no such thing as an international standard. Every country does it differently.” How people drive and cross the road, according to Dowling, is a matter of a country’s cultural values. Is it really? Bad traffic habits are a grave problem in many cities around the world. Yet, while many have managed to largely solve the...
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Jun
07

Correcting Unemployment Numbers – A Call for Government Action

There are many pressing challenges and issues that command the attention of people interested in politics in Georgia. Some of these issues are emotionally charged, and there is not necessarily a consensus across society. However, there is one issue on which there should be a consensus, and it matters tremendously to the Georgian people. This is the issue of unemployment, and more specifically, unemployment numbers. According to a recent survey that CRRC conducted for NDI, Georgians consider unemployment to be the most pressing issue.    The pr...
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Jun
03

Riding the Dragon

Cultural and intellectual achievements herald economic success of a people, and the Chinese cultural and intellectual heritage is breathtaking. The Chinese discovered gunpowder, the compass, and the movable type printing press long before the Europeans. Admiral Zheng He’s fleet reached Mogadishu and Mombasa with up to 28,000 sailors at the same time when the Europeans set out to discover Africa with crews of not more than 300 sailors. Temporarily lamed by Mao and his followers, capitalism has unleashed the dragon once again! China is about to become the ...
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