For the countries in the South Caucasus, health hidden costs amount to 87%, 88%, and 92% of the total quantified hidden costs of agri-food systems. In terms of the share in GDP, they subsequently comprise 18%, 16%, and 22%, respectively.

For the third quarter of 2024, business confidence in Georgia decreased (by 2.8 index points) and reached 13.6. The highest decrease in business confidence is observed in the construction (-12.5) sector. The negative change in BCI for Q3 2024 was driven by less optimistic expectations.

China is the largest bilateral creditor to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) presently. China’s lending mainly targets infrastructure, transport, energy, and mining sectors in developing countries that are of strategic importance to the Chinese government. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have observed the most substantial increases in borrowing. Chinese financing to LMICs is facilitated through state entities, offering concessional and non-concessional loans, with a significant portion of lending cloaked in confidentiality.

The Policy Panel: Current Economic Challenges and Opportunities in Georgia was sponsored and organized by ISET Policy Institute as part of the 1st International Conference of the Georgian Economic Association on July 2, 2024, at Stamba.

On July 2, 2024, ISET Policy Institute and the Georgian Economic Association jointly hosted a policy panel discussion “Current Economic Challenges in Georgia” as part of the 1st International Conference organized by the Georgian Economic Association (GEA).