Publication: Georgia Public Finance Review: Fiscal Policy for Inclusive Growth
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2025-11-06
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2025-11-12
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The Public Finance Review (PFR) for Georgia looks at the contribution of fiscal policy to inclusive and sustainable growth by assessing the country’s macro-fiscal performance and policy framework, and by undertaking deep-dive analyses on the quality of the tax and education systems in Georgia. The objective of this report is to inform policymakers about the fiscal and institutional policy options to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and equity of tax policy and public spending while maintaining macro-fiscal stability. The report focuses on an assessment of the quality of the tax system and of the quality of public spending in education. On the revenue side, the level of tax collection is higher than structural peers, but there are opportunities to reduce tax distortions hampering firm growth, and formalization of the labor force and to tax negative externalities better. On the expenditure side, education is a sector with sizable spending (about 11 percent of the budget) in which reforms are longstanding (unlike in other sectors). Poor learning outcomes negatively impact human capital formation, which is crucial for supporting the productivity and innovation boost essential to transition to a high income country (HIC) and compete in the European market. Overall, proposed reforms can help strengthen the role of fiscal policy in supporting Georgia’s aspiration to become a high-income country and to join the European Union (EU).
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“World Bank. 2025. Georgia Public Finance Review: Fiscal Policy for Inclusive Growth. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/43966 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
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