Institution: ISET-PI
Luc Leruth
Luc Leruth is a Lead Economist at the ISET Policy Institute (ISET-PI). He holds an MSc degree in Mathematics as well as MA and a Ph.D. in Economics. Mr. Leruth has spent most of his career in international financial institutions, mostly the IMF, but also at the AsDB in a number of positions. He has served as a Head of the Fiscal transparency Unit, Secretary of the G-10, and Director of several Regional Technical Assistance Centers of the IMF in Africa and in the Pacific.
Luc Leruth has spent many years in academia, including at the Indian Statistical Institute in Delhi, at the Universities of Liège, Brussels, and Essex. He has published extensively in scientific journals. Mr. Leruth also has experience in the Fintec sector and has published several novels.
[Last updated March 2021]
Ia Katsia
Ia Katsia is a Senior Researcher at the ISET Policy Institute (ISET-PI). Ia focuses her research on agricultural and rural development policy. She is responsible for the monthly Khachapuri Index publication. Her main research interests cover Agriculture Economics, Climate Change, Food Security and Sustainable Development.
Ia Katsia is a graduate of the International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University (ISET) with a specialization in Agricultural Economics.
[Last updated November 2024]
Salome Gelashvili
Salome Gelashvili is the Practice Head of the Agricultural and Rural Policy Research Center at ISET-PI. Salome supervises all the research projects and regular analytical publications undertaken at the Center. Her research interests include agricultural economics, development economics and macroeconomics.
Salome has a B.A. degree in Business Administration from Tbilisi State University (TSU) and a M.A. degree in Economics from the International School of Economics at TSU (ISET).
[Last updated March 2024]
Giorgi Papava
Giorgi Papava is the Practice Head of the Private Sector Development Practice at ISET-PI. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Chicago. Before joining ISET-PI, Giorgi successfully collaborated as an economic consultant and researcher with several local and international organizations.
Giorgi Papava is a CERGE-EI Career Integrated Fellow, currently teaching at ISET. His research interests include international trade, industrial organization, political economy, and public policy.
[Last updated March 2024]
Mariam Katsadze
Mariam Katsadze joined the ISET Policy Institute (ISET-PI) in February 2019. She is a member of the Private Sector Research Center (PSDRC) and is actively engaged in private-sector development projects.
Mariam Katsadze holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from ISET and is a graduate of the Class of 2018. Before completing her studies at ISET, she obtained her Bachelor’s degree with a focus on Macroeconomics from Tbilisi State University in 2016. From 2017 to 2018, she served as a teaching assistant at ISET, delivering lectures on Macroeconomics to first-year MA students.
Following her graduation from ISET, Mariam worked at the Policy and Management Consulting Group – PMCG as a project officer, contributing to infrastructural development projects. Since September 2018, she has also been a visiting lecturer at Ilia State University, where she teaches Principles of Economics to first-year BA students.
[Last updated March 2024]
Ana Burduli
Ana Burduli serves as the Deputy Head of the Private Sector Development Policy Research Center at the ISET Policy Institute. Ana holds a Master’s Degree in Quantitative Economics from the University of Tartu in Estonia (2017) and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Administration from Tbilisi State University (2014).
Before joining the ISET Policy Institute, Ana Burduli worked as a Business Development Officer at the Policy and Management Consulting Group (PMCG). Prior to her tenure at PMCG, Ana Burduli served as a Research Assistant at the Central Bank of Lithuania in its Center for Excellence in Finance and Economic Research (CEFER), where she worked on DSGE models. She also worked as a Mentor for the Masters of Applied Economics Programme at CERGE-EI in Prague. Since October 2019, Ana has been a Visiting Lecturer at Ilia State University, delivering the Principles of Economics course to BA students.
Her research interests include public policy, international trade, and competitiveness.
[Last updated March 2024]
Giorgi Mzhavanadze
Giorgi Mzhavanadze is a Senior Researcher at the ISET Policy Institute (ISET-PI). Giorgi specializes in macroeconomic research and is responsible for the quarterly Macroeconomic review, analyzing macroeconomic trends in Georgia, and writing blogs on different economic topics.
Giorgi Mzhavanadze is actively involved in various research projects and is providing research assistance for ADB, UNDP, USAID and other international organizations, as well as the Georgian Government. Giorgi also works as a lecturer in Microeconomics, Macroeconomics and Practice Courses in Excel at Ilia State University, having previously lectured at Tbilisi State University and the University of Georgia.
His academic background includes a BA in Macroeconomics and MA in Economics. Currently, Giorgi is an Economics Ph.D. student at Tbilisi State University.
*Last updated April 2021
Yaroslava Babych
Yaroslava Babych is a Resident Faculty member at the International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University (ISET). She is also the head of the Macroeconomic policy research practice at ISET Policy Institute (ISET-PI). She has studied at the University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Kyiv, Ukraine, and then at Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania, USA. Yaroslava Babych received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Franklin and Marshall College with a double major in Economics and Philosophy. She received her Ph.D. in Economics from George Washington University in Washington, DC in 2011.
The research and professional interests of Yaroslava Babych are focused on macroeconomic stability and growth patterns in transition economies. At ISET Yaroslava Babych teaches first and second-year courses in Macroeconomics and Open Economy Macro. As the head of the Macroeconomic policy research practice at ISET-PI, she supervises regular monitoring of macroeconomic indicators for Georgia, providing consulting services for governments, private sector, and international organizations.
ISET-PI was established in May 2011 to complement the educational mission of ISET, a prominent center of excellence in economics education and research serving the South Caucasus region. ISET-PI provides independent policy research and training and is a member of the FREE Network.
Last updated February 2023
Davit Keshelava
Davit Keshelava is a Lead Economist at the ISET Policy Institute and an Assistant Professor at ISET. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and specializes in macroeconomics, gender economics, cost-benefit analysis, and impact assessment.
Dr. Keshelava actively contributes to research projects, particularly in the development of Regulatory and Gender Impact Assessments at the ISET Policy Institute. He played a pivotal role in formulating the Gender Impact Assessment (GIA) methodology and has collaborated with various Georgian ministries on Regulatory and Gender Impact Assessments. In addition, Dr. Keshelava provides comprehensive training to governmental ministries’ staff, enriching their analytical and policy formulation capabilities. He also teaches various courses in the bachelor’s program at ISET and the Ph.D. program at Tbilisi State University, further extending his expertise to future economists.
(Last updated June 2024)
Maka Chitanava
Maka Chitanava is Deputy Head of Energy and Environment Policy Research Center of ISET Policy Institute (ISET-PI), Tbilisi. Ms. Chitanava holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from the International School of Economics (ISET).
Her research interests are environmental policy, social policy analysis and regulation. Ms. Chitanava is a regular blogger at the ISET Economist Blog and a visiting lecturer at the University of Georgia.
(Last updated October 2020)