On June 13, 2013 Michael Fuenfzig presented a new study of the ISET Policy Institute, the “Report on Regional Disparities in Georgia”. The study was commissioned by the EU project “Support to Regional Policy Implementation in Georgia”. The ISET Policy Institute team has been intensively studying multiple dimensions of potential disparities between the regions of Georgia for two months. With the main regional disparities and data gaps identified, this report serves to lay the foundations for efficient regional policy formulation and implementation in Georgia.
One of the main findings of the report is that most of the systematic regional disparities, such as disparities in gross value added, economic structure, unemployment rates and infrastructure, can be explained by differences in urbanization rates across the regions. However, some other dimensions of disparities, in terms of income, inequality and poverty, persist even after controlling for the level of urbanization.
Key stakeholders, including representatives of international organizations and NGOs, politicians and academics attended the presentation of the report. The presentation was followed by a lively discussion on the future of the Georgian regional development policy.
ISET will be happy to host such important discussions again.
