Episode 45: Georgia's Neoliberal Lock-in with Tato Khundadze

Georgia’s trade dynamics with the EU have not improved, even though it signed a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) in 2014. The Georgian export basket deteriorated qualitatively since that time. Specifically, Georgia’s export basket sophistication has decreased, and the share of low-tech and resource-based products has increased. Moreover, Georgia’s exports to the EU have become more concentrated. Georgia's economy is marked by jobless growth, deindustrialization and other unyielding structural weaknesses. How and why did Georgia find itself in this "neoliberal lock in"? And what does the DCFTA have to do with it? On today's episode, we discuss EU-Georgia trade ties, how a peculiar form of neoliberalism developed in the country since 1992 and the political implications of it all with political economist Tato Khundadze. Check out the study "Neoliberal lock-in: Why Georgia-EU free trade does not work" co-authored by Tato Khundadze and Salome Topuria: https://southcaucasus.fes.de/news-list/e/neoliberal-lock-in-why-georgia-eu-free-trade-does-not-work.html Tato Khundadze is a PhD candidate at the New School for Social Research in New York, where he also teaches multiple courses and works as a research assistant. He received his MA in Economics from the New School for Social Research. He has extensive research experience in public policy and economic development. He was the head of the Analytical Division at the Georgian Public Broadcaster and a research fellow at the Centre for Social Studies of Georgia. His research interests include economic development, statistical learning, and economic growth models. His latest publications refer to the potential of introducing progressive taxation, Georgia’s history of industrial development, and public debt sustainability. (episode photo courtesy of: https://www.creativeboom.com/inspiration/photographs-of-abandoned-factories-and-industry-in-the-former-soviet-state-of-georgia/)