Absence of effective mechanisms for holding public officials accountable . In principle, the Administrative Code and the Civil Code include provisions on the conduct and accountability of public officials. However, in practice these provisions are not enforced. Efforts to introduce and implement codes of conduct for taxation and customs officials have had limited effect to date.
В· Absence of effective appeals mechanisms and the inadequate capacity of the courts . The Administrative Code provides for the public's right to be heard in protesting or seeking clarification on the actions of most government agencies. However, there is no provision for an independent or autonomous arbiter to provide recourse. This function is apparently to be carried out by the courts. However, the integrity of the courts is often suspected and the capacity of the courts to address these issues is limited.
1.8 Institutional Arrangements
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1.3.1 Securities Industry
The institutional structure of the securities industry includes the following market participants: reporting companies (ie the private companies whose shares are traded at Georgian Stock Exchange), securities brokerage companies, share registrars, clearing banks, Georgian Central Securities Depository (GCSD) and Georgian Stock Exchange (GSE). The overall supervision is carried out by the National Securities Commission of Georgia (NSCG). The rights of the securities market participants are protected by the Georgian Securities Industry Association (GSIA). The structure of Georgian Stock Market is presented in Fig. 1.3.1.1:
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Fig. 1.3.1.1. The Structure of Georgian Stock Market
2. Society
2.1 Poverty issues
Poverty Trends. The relatively slow rebound from the economic collapse after independence has led to a severe decline in welfare. Georgia's annual income per capita is about 56 percent below the pre-independence level, unemployment rates are high (16 percent in 2001) and many Georgians are underemployed. In the circumstances, poverty, vulnerability and inequality have all increased over the period. Georgia clearly needs to achieve and sustain higher economic growth rates to improve living conditions. Given the small size of the domestic market, this can be achieved only through a stronger expansion in export activities, especially of those in which Georgia has a comparative advantage and the potential to generate new job opportunities, such as agro-processing.
Poverty Profile . Strengthened economic performance resulted in an reduction of poverty in the mid 1990s. However, Georgia's growth rate slowed conside...
