On Friday, September 23rd14:00hrs, at Radisson Blu Iveria – Economic Policy Research Center and Open Society Georgia Foundation hold a presentation of Georgian Economic Outlook – The first half of 2011.
Since 2011 Economic Policy Research Center prepares a quarterly report of Georgian Economic Outlook. The report is prepared with the financial support of the Think Tank Fund of the Open Society Foundations.
In Quarterly Reports the Center presents analysis of Georgian Economy. Each issue shall focus on a major theme that shall be further overviewed in details. At the same time, each issue shall cover such crucial aspects of the economy as: Gross Domestic Product, Gross National Income, Consumer Price Indices, Inflation and Unemployment, Foreign Trade and Foreign Direct Investments, Consolidated Budget of the country, Fiscal and Monetary Policies, Banking Sector, as well as Georgian Economy from the world perspective.
Major Topic of the first issue is Inequality and Gini Coefficient. The so-called Gini Coefficient (named after Italian Statistician Corrado Gini) is the most widely used and understandable indicator for measuring income equality of the population. National Statistics Office of Georgia does not use this coefficient. Gini Coeffiient is a mathematical concept, measuring equality from 0 to 1 and is often presented as a percentage from 0 to 100 percent. Low indicator of Gini Coefficient means high income equality in a society.
Where does Georgia Stand? Currently, Georgia’s Gini coefficient equals 40.8. A comparison helps better assess the picture: Scandinavian countries have an indicator of around 25, while the continent of Africa is characterized by a relatively high indicator (around 70). Even within the region, where the post-Soviet countries likewise have high indicator, Georgia still outweighs some of its neighbors in terms of inequality: Armenia’s Gini coefficient is 30.2. However, has a lower inequality as compared to Russian Federation (43.7), and Turkey (41.2). The Georgian indicator closely resembles the coefficients of Latin American countries (Venezuela 43.4, Uruguay 47.1, Columbia 58.5), characterized by the absence or a small size of middle class.
The Presentation shall be attended by: Diplomatic Corps, representatives of Governmental and non-governmental organizations, media and expert societies.
