Georgia Economic Report, October 2013 : Seeking Effective Policies
This economic report records the economic activities of Georgia for the year 2013. The growth slow-down in 2013, largely viewed as temporary, reflected to a large extent policy uncertainty that began with the late-2012 parliamentary elections and i...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/307401486641679320/Georgia-Seeking-effective-policies http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26092 |
| Summary: | This economic report records the
economic activities of Georgia for the year 2013. The growth
slow-down in 2013, largely viewed as temporary, reflected to
a large extent policy uncertainty that began with the
late-2012 parliamentary elections and is expected to last
until the October 2013 Presidential elections, and attempts
by the new government to trim public investment spending. In
the absence of a clear communications strategy and a
well-structured development strategy that elaborated the
government’s policy direction, a weakening of consumer and
investor confidence since November 2012 along with a cut in
public investment spending, contributed to slower growth.
Both tax and non-tax revenues fell behind budget estimates
in the first half of the year reflecting the economic
slowdown. The revenue shortfall was driven by a drop in VAT
on imports. Demand for imported investment goods has been
particularly weak. The external position of the country
improved, as imports declined significantly, mainly because
of lower demand generated by public investment spending.
Commodity imports fell by 19 percent while exports rose 8
percent during the first six months of 2013. Credit growth
softened as demand for loans declined even in the face of
cuts in the Central Bank rate. The twelve month increase in
credit slowed to 12 percent by July 2013 from 24 percent in
July 2012. Slower lending and higher deposits have led to
excess liquidity in the system. |
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