If you follow modern Georgian electronic media, you have definitely noticed a strange tendency of publishing news pieces based on people’s posts and status updates on Facebook. Besides Georgian journalists’ determination to free ride, this points to the fact that Facebook has become an important platform to express one’s opinion on political and social issues. In fact, a recent Pew Internet & American Life Project study finds that 37% of electronic social network users post political material at least occasionally and that 75% of social networking si...
ISET Economist Blog
A blog about economics in the South Caucasus.
Nov
28
Nov
26
In his blog post “The puzzle of agricultural productivity in Georgia and Armenia” , Adam Pellillo raises the following question:
Georgia seems to be the only former Soviet republic in which agricultural productivity hasn’t returned to or exceeded its level in 1992. As of 2010, agricultural productivity stood at only 77 percent of where it was at nearly two decades ago. Why hasn’t agricultural productivity improved in Georgia over the past two decades, while it has at least recovered in every other former Soviet republic? It is even more p...
Nov
23
MATH EDUCATION AND GROWTH: RECENT EVIDENCE
Mathematical literacy has always been a key factor in improving a country’s productivity and competitiveness. Stanford University’s Eric Hanushek has shown that there is a positive relationship between students’ performance in mathematics tests and economic growth. This is not at all surprising. Proficiency in math implies a high-level of cognitive skills among the labour force, in other words a high quality of human capital, which leads to technological innovation and productivity gains.
Another more re...
Nov
16
In recent weeks there has been a lot of talk about alleged monopolies and cartels in Georgia, and Georgia’s future competition policy. With few exceptions this debate has been pathetic. The debate has been dominated by politicians or businesses with a vested interest in the outcome. Even worse the framework of the debate is often provided by self-proclaimed experts with no actual expertise.
According to the debate monopolies and cartels are pervasive in Georgia. Seemingly almost every sector of the Georgian economy is not competitive, either because firm...
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