ღონისძიებები
სეა 2026: კონფერენციის მიმოხილვა
Conference Report
The 2nd International Conference of the Georgian Economic Association
June 26–27, 2026 · Rooms Hotel and Stamba Hotel · Tbilisi, Georgia
Full conference program (PDF) ↗45Paper presentations
17Parallel sessions
2Keynote lectures
1Policy panel
Overview
The Georgian Economic Association held its second international conference in Tbilisi on June 26–27, 2026, bringing together researchers from Georgia and abroad for two days of academic presentations, discussion, and policy exchange.
The research program comprised 45 paper presentations across 17 parallel sessions, alongside two keynote lectures, a student poster session, and a policy panel. The sessions spanned firm dynamics and industrial policy, labor markets and migration, political economy and information, empirical industrial organization, education, international trade and geopolitics, climate and macroeconomics, market design, public policy, and financial markets.
Beyond the scheduled presenters, the conference drew participants from universities, policy and government institutions, the financial sector, and the student community, providing a forum for exchange between academic research and policy practice.
Conference materials: View the complete 2026 conference program (PDF).
Keynote lectures
Joseph P. Kaboskiprofile ↗
David F. and Erin M. Seng Foundation Professor of Economics, University of Notre Dame
“Spreads and the Macroeconomy”
Kaboski’s keynote examined the role of financial spreads and intermediation in the macroeconomy, connecting questions in finance, development, and aggregate economic performance. The lecture also provided a natural intellectual link to the policy discussion on financial development that followed later in the day.
Ruben Enikolopovprofile ↗
ICREA Research Professor at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF); Research Professor, Barcelona School of Economics (BSE); Researcher, Barcelona Institute for Political Economy and Governance (IPEG)
“Political Effects of Social Media”
Enikolopov’s keynote focused on the political consequences of social media, drawing on a growing body of research at the intersection of political economy, information, and digital platforms. The topic complemented several conference sessions devoted to information, beliefs, politics, and communication.
Research program
The parallel sessions brought together researchers from institutions in Georgia, Europe, North America, and beyond. The program covered macroeconomics, industrial organization, labor, trade, and finance, with contributions on geopolitical risk, supply chains, digital markets, climate policy, disinformation, migration, and structural transformation.
A student poster session offered an additional venue for emerging researchers to present work and engage with conference participants.
Policy panel: Financial Development and Economic Growth
The first day concluded with a policy panel on “Financial Development and Economic Growth,” co-organized with the Banking Association of Georgia. The discussion brought together participants from banking, economic development and policy institutions, and academia.
Moderated by Alexander Dzneladze of the Banking Association of Georgia, the panel featured Vakhtang Babunashvili (Basisbank Holding), George Bakradze (ProCredit Bank Georgia), Irakli Gabriadze (Georgia Economic Development Corporation), Joseph Kaboski (University of Notre Dame), and David Utiashvili (National Bank of Georgia).
The session was well attended by stakeholders from policy and government institutions, universities, the financial sector, and the student community. It provided an opportunity to connect research-based perspectives on finance and growth with institutional and policy experience in Georgia.
Conference community
Discussion continued outside the formal sessions over coffee breaks, meals, and the farewell reception. Following the two-day academic program, participants also had the opportunity to join an informal third-day excursion, extending conversations beyond the conference venue and giving visiting participants an opportunity to experience more of Georgia.
Media coverage
Business Media: conference coverage and interviews ↗
Additional media coverage will be added as it becomes available.
Acknowledgements
GEA thanks the keynote speakers, presenters, panelists, participants, scientific committee, partner institutions, and all those who contributed to the conference. We are especially grateful to our sponsors, the Banking Association of Georgia and Basisbank, for their support. The Association looks forward to continuing to provide a forum for high-quality economic research and for exchange among economists working in Georgia and abroad.
Georgian Economic Association · 2nd International Conference · Tbilisi · June 26–27, 2026