Globalization and Business

15 - 24

Authors: Vladimer Papava

The paper discusses the economic issues of the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting coronomic crisis is not a typical economic crisis since the coronomic crisis was not formed in the economy itself but is the result of the inability of medicine to solve the pandemic problem. The coronomic crisis is, by its very nature, an atypical economic crisis and is fundamentally different from other atypical economic crises that took place in the XX century. The coronomic crisis put the issue of the “crisis of globalization” on the agenda. The coronomic crisis exposed the weaknesses of globalization. Overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic is possible exclusively at the global level. The paper shows that the current process of de-globalization is “forced” by its nature and it will definitely be replaced by a qualitatively renewed process of globalization. Economic recovery from the corona crisis will be most successful only on the basis of the adherence to a free trade regime. In economic science, the problem of government intervention in the economy, especially during the pandemic and the post-pandemic period, is still relevant. The corona crisis has clearly confirmed the inability of inflation targeting to achieve macroeconomic stability. The coronomic crisis requires two approaches to economic policy. In particular, we mean an anti-crisis economic policy and a post-crisis economic policy. Economic incentives provided by the government to businesses contribute to the zombieing of the economy which will be one of the most difficult problems of the post-crisis period. The coronomic crisis made the issue of the economic security of each individual country even more urgent. The problem of ensuring food security is equally important. The economic policy of the post-crisis period must necessarily include measures to ensure a country’s food security. Since the possibility of a repetition of a pandemic in the future is similar to the current one, the problems of coronomics should remain in the field of study of economists for many years.

35 - 42

Authors: Elguja Mekvabishvili

A system that is a mixed economy has established in modern post-industrial countries and the participation of the state in it is very important. The active role of the state is especially evident in extreme situations, as evidenced by the experience of the most acute of the 21st century - the global financial crisis and the coronary crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Against the background of the implemented and ongoing changes in the economies of world and nation states in economic theory today we see the revival of the Keynesian doctrine. This doctrine withdrew the United States of America, as well as other countries, out of the worst crisis of the 20th century, out of the so-called „The Great Depression“ and it has been a major factor in the unprecedented economic success of these countries during four decades. A comparative analysis of the global financial and economic crises shows that the state not only plays a leading role in the process of rescuing economies from the crisis, but also its participation in post-crisis development, which implies the so-called Performing the function of "bridge management". Based on the experience of the coronary crisis, in order to ensure the stability and development of the Georgian economy, we consider it necessary: Based on finding and using local resources, the state should implement economic policies aimed at accelerating the development of the real sector of the economy, diversifying the internal food market, reducing the negative foreign trade balance of agri-food products. This does not mean prioritizing import-substituting production, but focusing on the development of local production of products whose resources currently exist in our country; The state must create strategic reserves of food, medical supplies and basic necessities, which are vital in a rapidly changing global environment full of uncertainty and risk; Attitudes towards the tourism sector need to be changed substantially. After the end of the pandemic, the world will return to normal life and the number of tourists entering Georgia will increase again. However, given the lessons of the pandemic, we must bear in mind that it is necessary to: a) move to an intensive model of tourism; B) Organic inclusion of tourism in the local value chain; C) Pay more attention to the development of local tourism.

50 - 57

Authors: Iuri Ananiashvili, Levan Gaprindashvili

In this article we present forecasts of the spread of COVID-19 virus, obtained by econometric and machine learning methods. Furthermore, by employing modelling method, we estimate effectiveness of preventive measures implemented by the government. Each of the models discussed in this article is modelling different characteristics of the COVID-19 epidemic’s trajectory: peak and end date, number of daily infections over different forecasting horizons, total number of infection cases. All these provide quite clear picture to the interested reader of the future threats posed by COVID-19. In terms of existing models and data, our research indicates that phenomenological models do well in forecasting the trend, duration and total infections of the COVID- 19 epidemic, but make serious mistakes in forecasting the number of daily infections. Machine learning models, deliver more accurate short –term forecast of daily infections, but due to data limitations, they struggle to make long-term forecasts. Compartmental models are the best choice for modelling the measures implemented by the government for preventing the spread of COVID-19 and determining optimal level of restrictions. These models show that until achieving herd immunity (i.e. without any epidemiological or government implemented measures), approximate number of people infected with COVID-19 would be 3 million, but due to preventive measures, expected total number of infections has reduced to several thousand (1555-3189) people. This unequivocally indicates the effectiveness of the preventive measures.

63 - 69

Authors: Simon Gelashvili

The paper discusses Coronastatistics as a content of complex cognition, which is characterized by many aspects; it reflects not only the health care issues of the population, but also the issues of the economy: A system of their characteristic statistical indicators and its constituent blocks is proposed. Each of them gives a fairly wide range of both general and specific indicators. It is clear that health statistics indicators are particularly widespread, quantitatively characterizing the total number of Coronavirus-infected populations as well as their distribution by area, source of disease, sex, age, and other signs. The economic bloc presents statistical indicators, that characterize the impact of COVID-19 on the economic and business sectors and the consequences of its impact in the short, as well as medium and long term. Both, macro and microeconomic statistical measures are provided, as well as indicators for determining the size and range of reactions of small, medium and large businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic has more or less spread to almost every country, and it has had a significant unintended negative impact on all areas of public life, especially the economy and human social life. This impact is multifaceted and requires complex quantitative and qualitative research. Appropriate methodoland methodology, including statistics, are necessary for such research. Coronastatistics has a broad, complex content and includes not only quantitative indicators of the spread of the Coronavirus, but also the consequences of its impact on human health and social life, as well as economic, environmental, demographic, business and other areas. The system of Coronastatistics consists of many subsystems, or blocks. First of all, the groups of general and special indicators should be distinguished, which are created according to each field. The grouping is based on various essential traits such as field, area, demographic (biological) characteristics and many more. The calculated indicators will be represented as absolute and relative, as well as average, in the form of variation and indices. In addition, appropriate time series and correlation analysis indices should be used to quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first time in world history, the main cause of the current local, regional or global economic crisis is not directly in the economy or its management, but due to the impact of another, very strong exogenous factor - the COVID-19 pandemic. In such conditions, the need to expand the functions of the government is on the agenda. The state also takes the risk in managing the national economy, but it is somewhat different (Papava V., 2020: 138). It should also be noted that it is very difficult to accurately quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and business, both globally and locally (depending on the country), in the short or medium term. This begs the question: should economic and business change forecasts be calculated? The correct answer is: Of course, such predictions are needed. But they must be reliable enough. "In economics and business, forecasting serves as a compass that shows you where to go." (Gelashvili, S., 2019: 13). Therefore, in this case, it is more appropriate to calculate the interval statistical forecasts on the principle of collaborative forecasting, especially in the field of business, through which it is possible to carry out an operational response to specific market processes (Gelashvili, S., 2017: 259). The article presents the systems of coronastatics indicators developed by the author in the fields of economics and healthcare, which allows for a complex quantitative analysis and the development of appropriate recommendations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the managerial and preventive functions of the statistics were particularly evident. Without complete and reliable information and proper indicators, it is impossible to make sound and optimal decisions at all hierarchical levels and under any conditions, including pandemics or normal living conditions. The complex system of Coronastatistics indicators, proposed by the author, allows typological, structural and analytical grouping of data on COVID-19, which is an important condition for conducting relevant qualitative and quantitative analysis.

75 - 78

Authors: Murman Kvaratskhelia

The present article examines the historical aspects of the origin and development of various economic crises existing in the world, which constantly raises an issue of finding ways out of the problem, before scientists-researchers. In this regard, the author reviews the views of the representatives of the classical school of different epochs on the elimination of crises. In addition, the author also analyzes the directions proposed by modern scientists, the most notable of which is the theory of the real economic cycle as an independent direction, which laid the foundation for the systematic study of the economic crisis. Moreover, a conclusion that the slowdown in output growth in market conditions is not due to market inefficiency, but is due to low rates of technological development, and economic cycles are caused by technological shocks is notable. Based on the above assumption, scientists presented an argument, that the market can restore equilibrium without an outside intervention. The cyclical nature of crises followed by economic stimulus is also analyzed.

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Authors: Elene Chikovani

Article is devoted to the problems of the working out of the social security indicators in Georgia. It considers the essence of the social security and its importance for crisis and post crisis economies. It evaluates existing deficiencies in working out of the social security indicators in Georgia. It singles out the issues of the necessity and importance of consideration of the security as a compound part of the welfare in the crisis economy. Marking out, the circle of the security indicators related to the development of the basic needs, welfare foundations and capacities. The necessity of the dissociate of the indicators on the national, family and individual (personal) levels is substantiated. Inevitability of the setting out of the new circle of the social equality indicators in Georgia is grounded. The existing situation in the informational provision of the main directions of the social security recommended by the conventions and guidelines of the international labor organization is characterized. Special attention is paid to the existing backdowns in development of the food security information system in Georgia. The interrelation of the food security to the problems of the health, food insufficiency of the complex and sustainable development, as well as environmental issues is pointed out. The problems of the evaluation of the food security situation and elaboration of the relevant policy in Georgia are accentuated. The necessity of the further measures towards the improvement of the informational provision of the food security system is substantiated.

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Authors: Tsotne Marghia

The COVID-19 pandemic has led us to the need of choosing between short-term and long-term priorities. In order to conduct and evaluate effective policies, new types of models are required, that are able to incorporate both epidemiological and economic variables. The aim of this paper is to make practical use of theoretical framework in case of Georgia and lay the foundation for future research. The theoretical framework of the paper is based on the macroeconomically extended version of epidemiological SIR type model developed by Eichenbaum et al. (Eichenbaum, Rebelo, Trabandt, 2020). In the homogenous economic agent model human behavior determines the epidemiological situation in the country. Individuals are reducing the probability of infecting themselves by reducing consumption and labor supply. However, consumers do not take into account the possibility of them infecting others, thus creating the negative external effect. Therefore, these effects can be internalized using the containment policy, which is represented as tax on consumption in the model. By raising taxes, the government increases the relative price of consumption to leisure (the economic agent chooses what part of one’s time to devote to the labor market and what part of time to devote to leisure). Consequently, on other equal terms, households will change their behavior and prefer to stay at home, which is their response to the increased tax. However, these actions have a big impact on output. An epidemic ends when a large part of the population acquires collective immunity. In the absence of a vaccine and effective treatment, immunity can be generated by transmission of the virus and subsequent recovery. At this time, the number of deaths due to the virus is increasing. In this model, it is optimal to gradually increase the containment measures in parallel with the increase in virus cases, and to gradually mitigate the measures as the community approaches the critical level of immunity. This will help increase the share of people with immunity and, in the event of a high level of infection, deter infected people. The paper uses the mentioned theoretical framework in practice, taking into account the epidemiological and economic state in Georgia and investigates the short and long run effects of the pandemic on population health, as well as their economic behavior. In the short run the containment policy leads to deep recession, although it reduces the number of infected and deceased. Therefore, in this case there is a choice to be made between epidemiological and economic situations in the short run. However, in the long run, the negative impact of the pandemic on the economy is weaker when using the containment policy, than in case of not using it at all.

121 - 129

Authors: Nugzar Todua, Beka Vashakidze

The article shows that the global network, Internet, is socializing at a very high speed, and this is one of the main trends in the modern online system. The audience of social mеdia growing rapidly both in the world and in Georgia. This growth was facilitated by the fact that social media went beyond teen entertainment. Social media today is a platform for communication, study and work where people of different generations began to join. This article explores the importance of social media for marketing. It is noted that nowadays social media marketing has become an important component of online marketing, which has shown its effectiveness for companies targeted at the target audience. Social media marketing applications and platforms drive customer engagement, collaboration, and content sharing. The role of social media marketing in personal sales is also analyzed and the main problems associated with it are identified. With social media technology, sellers have a unique opportunity to build, influence and manage individual relationships with customers. Social media technologies help sellers engage customers through information sharing, interactivity, and problem-solving. Social media is an essential tool for salespeople to use to build customer relationships. However, there are not enough criteria for determining the effectiveness of the use of social networks by sales personnel. In this regard, studying the role of social media marketing in personal sales is one of the most pressing issues. Although some work has been done recently in the area of consumer behavior in Georgia, the issues of consumer behavior concerning personal sales in the Georgian market are still poorly understood and requires proper scientific development. Based on the above, the purpose of this work was to determine the attitude of Georgian consumers to social media marketing activities carried out by personal sellers, for which marketing research was conducted. The research was carried out in two stages based on qualitative and quantitative research methods. At the first stage, a qualitative study was carried out, which included a focus group and in-depth interview methods. At this stage, hypotheses were formulated and priorities were set for further research. In the second stage, we used the customer survey method, and as a research tool, we chose a questionnaire consisting of several structured questions. The survey was conducted using electronic and personal interview methods. A systematic random sampling method was used. The confidence interval is 95% and the margin of errors is set to be equal to 4%. The survey was carried out with 1022 respondents aged 18 years and more, which represent 0.03% of the total population of Georgia. The study area was different cities of Georgia: Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi, Rustavi, Sachkhere, Ambrolauri, Gori, Zugdidi, Senaki, Poti, and Kvareli. Based on this the survey results were analyzed using statistical software SPSS (version 21.0) for windows. Marketing survey showed that the majority of respondents (70%) actively use social media for personal sales. In this regard, Facebook is the leader among the most used social media platforms. The survey showed interest, reliability, and satisfaction of the respondents from the information provided by the websites related to personal sales. Marketing research has shown that the social media activity of salespeople is a very important factor for consumers when making a purchasing decision. Based on the analysis of variance, statistically significant values were obtained, which reflect the influence of consumer interest, awareness, trust and satisfaction on social networks associated with personal sales on their purchasing decisions.

138 - 149

Authors: Murman Tsartsidze

In the era of current globalization, when the whole world is faced with the qualitatively new economic crisis, for the purpose of raising the living standards of population the great importance is attached to ensuring their effective employment. The latter belongs to the major social-economic issues and poses quite a serious challenge to a country. The aforesaid is also conditioned by the fact that at the current stage of formation and operation of labour market the unemployment is regarded as the key factor causing poverty. Under the conditions of coronomics the problem is more exacerbated by thousands of workplaces having been temporarily suspended and lost due to the spread of Covid19 within the country. In such a situation it would be difficult to cope with the unemployment and make progress in effective employment without developing the socio-labour relations and applying its qualitatively new forms. Occasioned by the above mentioned, the paper aims at the profound study of peculiarities of the forms of distance employment, which are widespread in the international practice, and focuses on the formulation of certain directions and recommendations relating to the potential and prospects of their utilization in the country. In particular, on the basis of the research and analysis conducted the following key recommendations and conclusions have been reached: In the contemporary world the expansion of non-standard employment including the distance employment has radically changed the tendencies of developing the labour market. The mentioned forms of employment are characterized by: labour flexibility; the application of non-standard organizational-legal forms of labour; the adaptation of employers and employees to the constantly changing economic conditions; the realization of their interests, etc.; In the developed countries the distance employment greatly contributes to the increase in the overall level and scales of employment. Its main distinctive mark is the existence of workplaces out of enterprise (outworks). Accordingly, the distance employment is examined in the context of non-standard employment represented as the form of long-term labour relations with a single employer, which diverges from the standard model of full, regulated and open employment according to one or several criteria (performance, labour regime, labour hours, working conditions, work outcomes, working hours, work place and its location, social protection, the correlation between the subjects of labour relations, etc.); Based on its attractiveness as well as by popular demand, the distance employment is recently developing and enhancing at a fast pace all over the world. For instance, while at the outset of the 2000s approximately 30.0 million people were employed on distance jobs in the USA and EU countries, in the second decade of XXI century their number increased to 55.0 – 60.0 million. The quantity of distance employers is annually growing by 20%-30% worldwide. In 2019, the number of outworking employees equaled to 39.0% all over the world. In addition, 28% more of employees had the right to distance jobs. The USA, Canada, Finland, Denmark and Sweden lead this sphere; The advantages of distance employment are as follows: 1. On behalf of employees: flexible working hours; the standard, comfortable conditions of employment; the opportunity to get education and participate in the socially useful activities; extra income; contracts with outer organizations; the possibility to schedule the working time and the labour optimization; the provision of high efficiency and quality of work; the maintenance of the personal rhythm, resting and working time and their protection; saving of expenses; the decrease in time of communications; comfortable working space; the lack of corporate culture; the distance employment is the basis of creative self-realization, pleasure and satisfaction for a number of employers. 2.On behalf of employers: employing the professionals and providing the flexibility of personnel; raising the labour productivity and efficiency; ensuring the personnel loyalty; providing the clients with round –the-clock information services; forming the flexible organizational structure for enterprises; work site arrangement, saving rental costs. 3. On behalf of a state: the increase in the level of employment and the decrease in the level of unemployment; the development of distance employment involving the disabled persons; the decrease in traffic in the country; the increase in the number of economically active population; scaling down the migration; Apart from the positive points, the expansion of distance employment is related to the significant risk factors, which necessitate the introduction of their controlling mechanism by the state. It should be focused on reducing the aforesaid risk-factors to minimum level and protecting social and legal rights of employees; Occasioned by the goals of ensuring the effective employment as well as according to National Strategy for Labour Market and Employment Policy of Georgia 2019-2023, the provision of developing the non-standard forms of employment assumes the great importance in the country. It is also essential to regularly conduct the impact assessment defining the scales of distance jobs and the pace of their expansion at the level of total employment; In order to conduct the comprehensive analysis and evaluation of distance employment at the overall level of employment, we deem it expedient to make its classification not in terms of the scope of fields but according to the professions, which are currently singled out as being in great demand. Currently, at the labour market of Georgia the following specialties are most demanded by employers: 1. A specialist in marketing; 2. Sales manager; 3. The specialist in the area of internet-technologies; 4. A web-designer; 5. A programmer; 6. Distributer; 7. Tourism ( where the demands have, accordingly, increased on the specialties such as a waiter, a barman, a hotel manager, a guide); 8. Audit; 9. Accountant – financier; 10. A doctor; 11. A lawyer; 12. A teacher; 13. A construction manager; 14. Translator, etc. Exactly the mentioned professions are attractive in terms of developing the distance employment in a number of developed countries abroad; With the aim of raising the efficiency of state programs for employment and regulating the distance employment, the regular researches should be necessarily implemented in the direction of determining the real demands on working forces at the labour market. This is the only way offering the real prospects for developing the distance employment and their involvement in the state and regional programs of employment. The latter will considerably contribute to improving the quality of working life of population and ultimately, the raise of living standards.

156 - 162

Authors: Miron Tugushi

In this article current negative processes, causes of deteriorating of employment and unemployment indications, the reasons of which take place in Economical and Social sphere due to outbreak of the novel Coronavirus, are briefly characterized. It was concluded that the country will not be insured from viral pandemics in the future, therefore, the state is obliged to do everything for cohabiting along with this or another virus. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure both -protection of public health, as well as the unhindered growth of the country's economy. We completely agree to the opinions of the Academician V. Papava, Expert I. Archvadze and others, that it is necessary to make more investments in the real sector of development of the country, especially in the agriculture, small and medium-sized businesses in general, which need to be developed more in the regions than in the capital. In addition to our opinion, along with the encouragement of exports, it is necessary to sharply reduce the volume of goods imported into the country, which will be possible through the development and implementation of production programs in our country (in Georgia). Effective regulation of employment and unemployment would not be impossible if such specific measures are not taken in this direction as: 1) Taking into consideration the consequences of the novel Coronavirus pandemic, it is necessary to specify the deadlines for the implementation of the “Georgian Labor and Employment Policy Strategy” within 2019-2023 (Resolution # 662, Annex 1) approved by the Government of Georgia on December 30, 2019; Due to the circumstances created in the country, the deadlines for the implementation of a lot of measures, set out in this Annex, should be extended. In addition, it is doubtfully to fully perform the functions established by the LEPL - Employment Agency in October 2019, envisaged by its statute for a variety of reasons (imposed complicated tasks, insufficient legal basis, weak supervision of the curatorial Ministry and etc.); 2) timely adoption of the Law "About Employment"; 3) It is necessary to specify the supervisor of labor, employment and unemployment issues in the country, the organizational structure and functions of the “Ministry of Refugees from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs” needs to be regulated; 4) In order to gradually implement the problems of unemployment, it is necessary to develop and implement employment programs on a regional scale. In this matter, the above-mentioned Ministry should perform not only a "Supporting", but an organizational role as well.

170 - 179

Authors: Sophio Tkeshelashvili, Givi Lemonjava

Monetary policy is the macroeconomic policy that allows central banks to influence the economy. It involves managing the money supply and interest rates to address macroeconomic challenges such as inflation, consumption, growth and liquidity. Historically, for a long time, the task of monetary policy was limited to controlling the exchange rate, which in turn was fixed (at the beginning of the 20th century on the gold standard) for the purposes of promoting international trade. Eventually such a policy contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s. After the depression, governments prioritized employment. The central banks have changed their direction based on the relationship between unemployment and inflation, known as the Phillips curve. They believed in the link between unemployment and inflation stability, which is why they decided to use monetary policy (putting money into the economy) to increase total demand and maintain low unemployment. However, this was a misguided decision that led to stagflation in the 1970s and the addition of an oil embargo in 1973. Inflation rose from 5.5% to 12.2% in 1970-1979 and peaked in 1979 at 13.3%. Over the past few decades, central banks have developed a new management technique called "inflation targeting" to control the growth of the overall price index. As part of this practice, central banks are publicizing targeted inflation rate and then, through monetary policy instruments, mainly by changing monetary policy interest rates, trying to bring factual inflation closer to the target. Given that the interest rate and the inflation rate are moving in opposite directions, the measures that the central bank should take by increasing or decreasing the interest rate are becoming more obvious and transparent. One of the biggest advantages of the inflation targeting regime is its transparency and ease of communication with the public, as the pre-determined targets allows the National Bank's main goal to be precisely defined and form expectations on of monetary policy decisions. Since 2009, the monetary policy of the National Bank of Georgia has been inflation targeting. The inflation target is determined by the National Bank of Georgia and further approved by the Parliament. Since, 2018- 3% is medium term inflation target of National Bank of Georgia. The inflation targeting regime also has its challenges, the bigger these challenges are in developing countries. There are studies that prove that in some emerging countries, the inflation targeting regime does not work and other monetary policy regimes are more efficient. It should be noted that there are several studies on monetary policy and transmission mechanisms in Georgia. Researches made so far around the topic are based on early period data. Monetary policy in the current form with inflation targeting regime started in 2009 and in 2010 monetary policy instruments (refinancing loans, instruments) were introduced accordingly, there are no studies which cover in full the monetary policy rate, monetary policy instruments and their practical usage, path through effect on inflation and economy. It was important to analyze the current monetary policy, its effectiveness, to determine the impact of transmission mechanisms on the small open economy and business development. The study, conducted on 8 variables using VAR model, identified both significant and weak correlations of the variables outside and within the politics like GDP, inflation, refinancing rate, M3, exchange rate USD/GEL, exchange rate USD/TR and dummy factor, allowing to conclude, that through monetary policy channels and through the tools of the National Bank of Georgia, it is possible to have both direct and indirect (through inflation control) effects on both, economic development and price stability.

185 - 191

Authors: Nino Mikiashvili, Tinatin Tarashvili

Purpose. The research project “Active Engagement of society in Health care policy” studies hospitals, medical personnel (doctors and nurses) and patients as the main components of Healthcare System in Georgia, targeting two regions Tbilisi and Kutaisi. The initial aim of this research project was to answer the following questions: what is the disposition, viewpoint of the hospital management representatives, medical personnel and patients towards the healthcare policy? What is the level of quality of health services for patients? What is the level of awareness? How actively are different parties involved in the health care system? Project description. The health care policy of Georgia must respond to contemporary challenges and enhance the well-being of the public. Given the relevance of the issue, it is important to study and analyze the public awareness towards the development of a rational health care policy that is focused on delivering competitive medical services. The main novelty of the study is to involve three different stakeholders: hospital management, medical personnel and patients in the research process. Each group has a specific interest and attitude, which in turn determines the degree and extent of their engagement, but each of them proves the need for changes. The study revealed that patients as the final recipients of medical services are informed about health funding higher than average based on data analysis from both clinics from Tbilisi and Kutaisi (50% of respondents are fully informed, 40% partially informed, and 10% are uninformed). 80% of patients receive information about medical funding directly from their medical staff at a particular place, where they receive health care service. 87.5% of hospital managers are actively involved in the process of change and collaborate with government health legislation. When it comes to both capital and on-going costs, 87.5% of the funding is spent by mobilizing the internal funds of the clinics, while only 12% comes from complex financing. 83.3% of medical personnel believe that they are involved in the process of clinic’s management and thus in healthcare policy. They generally see the changes to be implemented with the following justifications: improvement of material-technical base of hospitals 8.3%, organizational structure 16.7%, legislative 33.3%, Insurance package optimization for patients 16.7%. This mandates the need for improvement of legislative and insurance reforms. Previous studies of Georgia's health care system, consistently demonstrated the satisfaction of beneficiaries of a universal health care program with medical services. This data strongly supports the high level of satisfaction of patients with the quality of received medical services in this study. The data analysis showed that patients' average satisfaction with the quality of medical services is 4.8 out of 5 for both cities. Despite the increasing satisfaction with quality of medical service for patients, is a subjective process, increasing the risks of medical errors in managing the treatment process. It is imperative to assess the medical risk for both the administration and medical staff. It depends on the prestige of the medical institution and staff and the continued smooth operation of the medical service. Medical risk is directly relevant to patients, so it is advisable to evaluate the impact of various factors on occupational (medical) risk management (R) using multiple regression analyzes within the current data. Exogenous factors are as follows: q1 Demand for the medical profession, q2 Competition in the professional market, q3 Satisfaction with organizational culture and management, q4 Feedback. In this case, the correlation coefficient is 0,876, the coefficient of determination is 0.767, the coefficient of correction - 0.612 and the standard deviation is 0.420. According to the F test, the equation was found to be significant at the 5% significance level. The equation: R = -2.517 + 0.195q1 + 0.575q2 + 1.195q3-1.080q4 And the standardized equation is: W = 0.117z1 + 0.375z2 + 0.717z3-0.483z4 Factors 2 and 3 in the equation are statistically significant. The signs of regression equation coefficients reflect the subjective attitude towards job risk protection that managers should consider - a competitive environment not generally, but fears of losing particular jobs due to unhealthy approaches, stress on staff, aggravates staffing, or detention or retention conditions. A successful health care setting must provide improved quality care at lower costs, easily available for patients and developing official feedback system through different settings. Methods. The design of this study was a direct interview method retrospective case control study. Participants were two hospitals in different cities (regions) of Georgia, Tbilisi and Kutaisi. One of them belongs to “Evex medical corporation” and the second one to the network of "Geo Hospitals". Three different types of questionnaires were used for each group (1. For doctors and nurses; 2. For management representatives of the hospital; 3. For patients). Total 40 questions. The most of the conclusions were statistically significant and thus their generalization was possible. The age range of the respondents was 18-70 years; 65% of the respondents were women. Considering the significant difference of each group three different interview questionnaires were used. Results. The results showed that the part of the society, namely, patients based on received data analysis are generally informed more than average level 0.681 (standard deviation). 50% of the patients say to be completely informed, only 10% of them say that they are not at all aware and 40% say to be moderately aware about the ongoing processes in Healthcare policy in Georgia. 80% of the patients are informed about the health service financing issues from medical personnel at the place of specific medical services. 87.5% of the management representatives from both regions are actively involved in healthcare policy. 88% of total participants of our project expressed their opinion and only 12% avoided commenting towards the desirable changes. For the evaluation of hospitals’ management were asked whether the management of the clinic is actively involved in health policy, or if the clinic's leadership is trying to change something "contrary to the law", 20% of respondents are trying to be actively involved in health care legislation processes. They are resolving the issue legally, and a similar percentage of respondents are trying to solve the problem with the resources within the clinic. The difference in the number of patients about the earlier awareness regarding the quality of medical services available in the hospitals is not significant in both cities. The survey shows that most patients at both clinics have prior knowledge of the quality of medical services available at the clinic as to treatment expectation. Conclusions. A large concern regarding the Georgian health care policy amendments are strongly related with general public health. The results of this study demonstrate a potential positive willingness of three different groups to cooperate and being involved in healthcare system decision making process. This observation in addition adds strength to the continued endorsement of medical professionals that their opinion to be considered while healthcare delivery throughout the country. The findings highlight that 88% of the randomly selected respondents are open for interaction, can express their opinion regarding ​​health care policy, insurance policy; evaluate the quality of health care and financial issues regarding health service and medication, the level of awareness and satisfaction with quality of health services. The study showed that the health care system of Georgia is developing in the directions so that no significant shortcomings are observed. It is noteworthy that reservations are very important for the active involvement of the public. Additional studies are needed to deduce an exact cause and effect relationship between public awareness and healthcare policy management.

198 - 203

Authors: Maka Ghaniashvili

For several decades, pension systems across the world have been undergoing reforms. The main reasons for this are demographic changes and increasing life expectancy. As life expectancy increases and the birth rate decreases, more people retire than are added to the workforce. To make these reforms more effective and ensure that they are based on the best benchmarks, the European Union (EU) has introduced the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) in the field of pensions. Pension system reform is on its way in Georgia since 2019, January. OMC evaluates pensions systems in terms of the three main objectives: adequacy, sustainability, and modernization of pensions. Our methodology is based on multivariate statistical analysis, and employs synthetic indicators for adequacy objectives, in case of Georgia and 27 EU countries, in the years 2010, 2015 and 2018. The article contributes to the existing literature on pension reforms through investigation of the convergence of EU27 and Georgia pension systems in terms of one of the OMC objectives, in order to evaluate the adequacy of the pension systems.

210 - 217

Authors: Nika Asanidze

Assessing the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on societies, economies and vulnerable groups is fundamental to inform and tailor the responses of governments and partners to recover from the crisis and ensure that no one is left behind in this effort. The world is facing the dangers posed by the global spread of the new COVID-19 which has created new set of problems for the economy. The Crisis has caused many difficulties for Georgia and its economy. The impact of the new virus is rippling through Georgian economy, but it might take a few months to fully see the fallout in data that track economic performance in Georgia. The coronavirus pandemic is putting enormous pressure on healthcare systems, it is affecting the global economy in an unprecedented way and it is leading to a downturn incomparable to any other economic crisis in recent history. It is hard to estimate the depth and duration of the recession for every region and country. It will depend not only on the development of pandemic, but also on specific economic futures, strengths and vulnerabilities. Today the economy is a hostage to medicine. In Georgia, had on the following industries: tourism, transportation, agriculture and real estate had the biggest negative impact from COVID-19. Hotels, restaurants and tourist agencies demand from the government to postpone the budget taxes and bank loans. Meanwhile the hospitality sector of Georgia tries to minimize the cost because of sharp drop in revenue. Different countries will need different responses to dealing with the global economic challenges. As a fact COVID-19 has taught many countries to survive during the crisis period. From the economic stand point of view, every country has suffered the negative consequences of the COVID-19. The level of the consequences had direct correlation on the economic factors.

227 - 232

Authors: Ia Natsvlishvili

The article assesses the perspectives of achieving sustainable development goals and implementation of sustainable business models in Post-Covid era. Challenges created by the novel corona virus (Covid-19) pandemic have been analyzed in the context of sustainable development using desk research method and qualitative content analysis. Pandemic crisis gradually develops into a "triple wave" crisis: 1) pandemic shock and public health crisis; 2) a stronger shock of economic global mega-recession, 3) an even more powerful ecological crisis caused by climate change and declining biodiversity might be emerge. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) the total "lockdown" of economy caused by pandemic leads to a reduction of almost one-third of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the world's leading economies. Each month of economic “lockdown” causes a 2% loss of annual GDP. If some sectors of the economy can only be partially "locked down", then the initial reduction in GDP in most leading economies will be 20% -25%. According to the World Bank pandemic and “lockdown” of world’s leading economies could push to extreme poverty more than 60 million people and eliminate all the results achieved in the past years in poverty eradication. Achieving sustainable development goals and implementation of sustainable business models might stay away from attention. In the future the frequency of pandemics will increase if humanity does not stop destroying nature. It is known that among mammals and water birds 1.7 million unknown viruses are inhabited that could be transmitted to human beings. Unrestrained deforestation, agrarian expansion, and infrastructure creation bring humans closer to these mammals and birds. The pandemic situation is causing changes in the socio-political context. There are signs of politicization in the fight against corona virus-phenomena called infodemia and covidism. We observe excessive bans introduced by governments, restrictions on international trade, calls for protectionism, propaganda of nationalism, attempts to introduce authoritarianism, violation of fundamental human rights, attempts to spread mass fear and hysteria through the media. The article evaluates two alternative scenarios for socio-economic development of post-pandemic period. In the current global mega-recession markets are changing radically, in the face of growing uncertainty firms are trying to adapt to new conditions. On the front line the "big" state appears, which acts as a leader in dealing with the pandemic and restoring the economy. In the Post-Covid era, a "new normal" situation is expected to emerge, which can develop in two possible directions. Undesirable direction is reduction of public services, ecological crisis caused by climate change, nationalism, autocracy. The preferred direction of development is more internationalization, new paradigms of business management, investments oriented on sustainable development, implementation of sustainable business modes, a new green deal and democracy. In order to reduce the risks of future pandemics, in the Post-Covid period a stimulus policy should be concentrated on the protection of human life and healthcare, provision of livelihoods, nature conservation and protection.

243 - 248

Authors: Khatuna Tabagari

Oil and natural gas are significant commodities in the world, on which the world industry, production, transport and other directions are depended. After the spreading of Corona Virus and continuous oil production by Russia, oil price began decreasing. This fact impacted on economy of the world oil producer countries and not only. It is noteworthy that the total bulk of the world oil reserves were 244.1 billion tonnes in 2018 which was increased by 1.3% compared to last year. At the same year the oil consumption was 4.5 billion tonnes which was increased by 1.6% compared to last year, too. Though oil consumption is connected to an ecological problems. The situation is lighter in case of natural gas, than oil. The alternative energies of oil, and generally hydrocarbons, are considered green economy, namely renewable energy resources. This means rationally using the resources, keeping reproductive processes, increasing productivity, saving economic and social prosperity of humans. Replacing non-renewable, lacking energy resources are being replaced with the renewable and ecologically clear ones (Abesadze, R. 2019). The aim of the sudy is to investigate how it is possible to replace hydrocarbons with renawble resources, how it only depends on the cost and stability of them, how it is possible to “let” the green economy, namely, renewable resources to be developed in the world, when oil and natural gas represent one of the instruments of power in the context of globalization.

252 - 256

Authors: Medea Chelidze, Tamari Beridze, Bella Goderdzishvili

The financial companies have hold an important position in the Georgian financial industry, and for this reason, their regulation is an essential issue, which should continue at least in the same manner. In the developed countries the non-bank sector plays an important role in the development of financial sector as well as the whole economy, which we cannot say about Georgia, due to the obvious dominance of commercial banks in the country. The aim of our study is to identify the role of microfinance organizations in the financial system of Georgia, and also to show the current state of this market segment. The article is based on the newest references and rich factual materials. The object of the research is microfinance organizations and the degree of their regulation by the state. The National Bank of Georgia has a full authority to supervise the work of commercial banks, non-bank deposit institutions, microfinance organizations and other organizations, envisaged by the law. The majority of the institutions with microfinance organization status, registered at the National Bank of Georgia, are consumer finance companies with their content. Their work is absolutely legitimate, however, the issuance of the loans are based not on the customer’s finance analysis, but the evaluation of a subject or property, presented for the loan insurance, and the funds are not directed to finance the business, but for the customer’s needs. The financial companies have hold important position in the Georgian financial industry, and for this reason, their regulation is an essential issue, which should continue at least in the same manner. It is problematic that currently many financial companies, pawnshops, internet-lenders or private individuals that are left beyond regulations. There is no guarantee the customers' rights will be protected when the work of the financial intermediaries is not regulated. Such circumstances create a threat to the spread of predatory lending practices in the market, the victim of which becomes the unaware customer. The results show that it is important to take more active steps on the part of supervisory organizations to develop the segment of microfinance organizations, so as not to reduce their role and importance in the financial system.

261 - 263

Authors: Tsitsino Dzotsenidze

Technological progress and innovation go hand in hand with the history of human civilization. It has a profound effect on the development of modern life. EU institutions, along with national institutions of member and associate countries, as well as a growing number of international and global political institutions, are major sources of 21st century formation. EU policy affects not only the lives of more than 500 million Europeans, but also global trends in areas such as climate change, resource utilization and sustainability, trade, healthcare, regional conflict resolution and poverty reduction. The aim of the paper is to show the trends of technological innovations that will play a big role in our lives in both the short and long term.

270 - 277

Authors: Paata Beridze

In the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, the establishment of ski resort on Goderdzi Pass is important for the development of recreation resources and as well as for the central government, which dedicates a significant amount of financial resources from both local and the central budget. Consequently, it is important to consider the ongoing processes of resort privatization. This interest is further intensified by the direct sale of a large amount of real estate. This article analyses the assessment aspects of real estate transfer in the form of direct sales and discusses the factors hindering the development of the resort, as well as the expected consequences of massive real estate privatization. So far, the mechanisms of privatization of property owned by the Autonomous Republic of Adjara and the legislation in force within this area, including strengths and weaknesses are discussed. Based on the law, the goal of privatization in the form of direct sale is to transfer the property right to the customer, who fully and conscientiously fulfils the condition(s) set for property privatization in the form of direct sale. The following can be assessed by the projects and activities carried out by the bidder in the past. The examples of direct selling discussed in the article clearly show that there are frequent cases when the transfer of property in the form of direct sale takes place to entrepreneurial entities registered a few days earlier, which excludes from consideration their experience in this particular field. Apart from that, in the legislative part of maintaining the profile as well as in the part of the employment of the locals, different deadlines and terms of condition are set for various companies which differ greatly without any regularity. Due to the abovementioned reasons, the investors who initially agree with the contract initiate amendments which causes changes to be made to the initial agreement. Often, these changes contradict the general plan for the development of the Goderdzi Ski Resort and have an overall negative impact on the stance of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara due to frequent extension of the deadline for the investment execution. Based on the results of the research, it is recommended to create a document (computing formula) that will allow the property management body to determine the minimum amount of employees and the amount of investment during the development of the investment package, as well as the minimum period of profile maintenance.

287 - 294

Authors: Rostom Beridze, Irakli Kordzaia, Merab Diasamidze, Natia Beridze

Tourism is of particular importance to the world and many countries have chosen it as one of the main priorities of the country's development. Based on the accepted practice and the critical ecological background, each country recognizes the sustainable socio-economic development of tourism, developing concepts, systematic and complex approaches, drafting of state action programs, long-term perspectives and other aspects whose existence and implementation depends on state government. Therefore, this field can bring significant positive socio-economic results compared to other fields of economy. Rural tourism is a pleasant and useful combination of two positive events. The first is the entrepreneurial activity that can bring other benefits to the entrepreneur and the second village where the main holidays are housed in which the tourist can get interesting services such as sanitation, cognitive, aesthetic or other. According to the UNWTO, rural tourism will be more popular after the pandemic, as tourists avoid crowded places and prefer to relax in ecologically clean environment. This new trend will be a positive event and previously unpopular places among tourists will become a source of income. This in itself will help stimulate the development of rural tourism after the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of the research is to study the opportunities of the rural tourism development after COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia and in mountainous regions of Adjara. Main questions discussed in this paper are: to analyze the employment opportunities for the population of rural areas; to foresee the possible secondary income, how to reduce the migration of rural population, especially the youth; possibility to supply the locally produced goods and service and to increase their awareness; possibilities to develop tourism-related industries. The joint efforts of government, municipal authorities, and business providers, with involvement of rural area inhabitants, are essential for the development of rural populated territories.