For the 4th quarter of 2021, business confidence in Georgia decreased slightly (by 5.8 index points) and reached 30.6. The highest decrease in business confidence is observed in construction (-21.0), service (-15.3), and agriculture (-8.8) sectors. A negative change in BCI for Q4 2021 was driven by worsened future expectations and past performance.

The development of the ICT (Information and Communications Technology) service sector is one of the strategic priorities for the Georgian economy. The sector is characterized by the unique potential to contribute to the country’s long-term growth, create positive productivity spillovers into other industries, and, in the longer term, transform the existing industrial structure of Georgia by moving away from primary production and primary exports.

The consequences of COVID-19 on tourism and in the industrial and service sectors have been discussed broadly recently. However, little has been said about the current and future implications on the Georgian power sector. The worldwide pandemic has already had and is still expected to have, quite significant implications on both the demand and supply sides of the electricity market. Although at this stage, we cannot estimate the exact scale of the effects, it is possible to represent a general theoretical framework of the existing and potential impacts.

This study explores the factors behind the improvements in Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) in Georgia over the last 15 years. It combines quantitative and qualitative analysis. Focus groups, in-depth interviews, and econometric analysis have highlighted the following determinants of SRB improvements: improved economic conditions, reduced poverty, increasing the economic share of the service sector (creating new job opportunities for women in banking, retail trade and other