The FINANCIAL ePaper_22 March2021 by The FINANCIAL

Ageing: Looming crisis or booming opportunity? See on p. 4

The FINANCIAL -- Young people, women and some ethnic groups, including black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi groups, are less likely to takeup a COVID-19 vaccine when offered, according to new research according to University of Glasgow. In a new large-scale UKwide study, led by the University of Glasgow in collaboration with the University of Essex... Continued on p. 9

CURRENCIES Mar. 20 Mar. 6

1 USD 1 EUR 100 RUB 1 TRY

3.3326 3.9645 4.5170 0.4595

3.3202 3.9640 4.4518 0.4418

See on p. 11

News Making Money

22 March, 2021

Vaccine Hesitancy More Likely in Young People, Women and Some Ethnic Groups

Sharing a Household with Young Children Appears to put Adults at no Greater COVID-19 Risk http://www.finchannel.com

Pandemic has accelerated digital upskilling

Family businesses are wellpositioned to lead the revival of the global economy

The FINANCIAL – A new survey of 32,500 workers in 19 countries paints a picture of a global workforce that sees the shift to remote working as just the tip of the iceberg. Reflecting the fact the pandemic has accelerated a number of workforce trends, 60% are worried that automation is putting many jobs at risk; 48% believe ‘traditional employment won’t be around in

recovery. The report, titled Mastering a comeback: How family businesses are triumphing over COVID-19, includes insights from nearly 2,500 family businesses and more than 500 non-family businesses. It uncovers three core strategies used by family businesses to address the immediate impact of COVID-19:

city According to University of Amsterdam. Petter Törnberg (Geography, Planning and International Development Studies, University of Amsterdam) is researching exactly how.

the future’ and 39% think it is likely that their job will be obsolete within 5 years. However, this is not a counsel of despair, as 40% of workers say their digital skills have been improved through the prolonged period of lockdown, and claim they’ll continue to embrace training and skill development. 77% are ‘ready to learn new skills or completely re-train’ and 74%

see training as a matter of personal responsibility. And, 80% are confident they can adapt to new technologies entering their workplace, with a large majority of those asked in India (69%) and in South Africa (66%) saying they are ‘very’ confident.

Continued on p. 3

Continued on p. 6

ISET Consumer Confidence Index | How digital platforms February 2021: Is It Catching Up (Finally)? are reshaping our cities ISET

mid softened restrictions consumer confidence is increasing. The Index is up by 2.8 index points and the pattern is similar for both sub-indices: the

Present Situation Index went up by 3.9 (from -43.1 to -39.2) and the Expectations Index is up by 1.7 (from -33.4 to -31.7) as can be seen on Chart 1. What happened? In February, the Government of Georgia lifted restrictions on trading activities and public transport. Schools and kindergartens were reopened.

Georgia also eased entry restrictions for Armenian, Azerbaijani, Belarusian, Kazakh, Russian, and Ukrainian travelers, triggering positive expectations about a possible revival of the tourism industry in the near future. Continued on p. 2

Continued on p. 11

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ISET Consumer Confidence Index | February 2021: Is It Catching Up (Finally)? ISET

mid softened restrictions consumer confidence is increasing. The Index is up by 2.8 index points and the pattern is similar for both sub-indices: the Present Situation Index went up by 3.9 (from -43.1 to -39.2) and the Expectations Index is up by 1.7 (from -33.4 to -31.7) as can be seen on Chart 1. What happened? In February, the Government of Georgia lifted restrictions on trading activities and public transport. Schools and kindergartens were reopened. Georgia also eased entry restrictions for Armenian, Azerbaijani, Belarusian, Kazakh, Russian, and Ukrainian travelers, triggering positive expectations about a possible revival of the tourism industry in the near future. Another piece of good news that might have boosted consumer confidence is the opportunity for legal employment in Germany’s agricultural sector. This was announced by the German Ambassador to Georgia on February 11th. By the end of February, more than 80,000 Georgian citizens had registered for this seasonal employment program. This could also explain why the increase in confidence was slightly higher for those living in rural areas (see Chart 2). Females’ confidence grew more than males’. With the closure of offices and educational institutions and the simultaneouslyemerging norm of working from home and online education, the pressure on women to perform unpaid chores like cooking, cleaning, washing, and childcare increased. Reopening schools and kindergartens should accordingly have increased their confidence (see Chart 3). Too early to rejoice. Even with two months of gradual increases (January and February), the CCI has not recovered enough to return to the average observed this summer. It is getting close, though. Let’s see where March takes us.

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Pandemic has accelerated digital upskilling, but key groups still miss out - PwC survey The FINANCIAL – A new survey of 32,500 workers in 19 countries paints a picture of a global workforce that sees the shift to remote working as just the tip of the iceberg. Reflecting the fact the pandemic has accelerated a number of workforce trends, 60% are worried that automation is putting many jobs at risk; 48% believe ‘traditional employment won’t be around in the future’ and 39% think it is likely that their job will be obsolete within 5 years. However, this is not a counsel of despair, as 40% of workers say their digital skills have been improved through the prolonged period of lockdown, and claim they’ll continue to embrace training and skill development. 77% are ‘ready to learn new skills or completely re-train’ and 74% see training as a matter of personal responsibility. And, 80% are confident they can adapt to new technologies entering their workplace, with a large majority of those asked in India (69%) and in South Africa (66%) saying they are ‘very’ confident. In addition, 49% of respondents are focused on building entrepreneurial skills with an interest in setting up their own business.

Half of workforce report

risk of disruption, score just 25% and 20% respectively; while banking scores 42%. “If current patterns in access to training persist, upskilling will increase social inequality when it should be doing precisely the opposite,” said Bhushan Sethi, Joint Global Leader of PwC’s People and Organization Practice. “Government and business leaders need to work together to intensify efforts to ensure people in the most-at risk industries and groups get the opportunities they need. Automation and technological disruption are inevitable, but we can control whether its negative effects are managed or not.”

missing out on career opportunities or training due to prejudice The survey also found that 50% of workers say they’ve faced discrimination at work

which led to them missing out on career advancement or training. 13% report missing out on opportunities as a result of ethnicity and 14% of workers have experienced discrimination on the grounds of gender, with women twice as likely to report gender discrimination as men. 13% report discrimination on the basis of class, with post-graduates and others with higher qualifications more likely to report prejudice. Younger

people are as likely as older people to report discrimination based on age. On top of that, the survey found there are disparities in access to upskilling opportunities. While 46% of people with postgraduate degrees say their employer gives them many opportunities to improve their digital skills, just 28% of people with schoolleaver qualifications say the same. Industries like retail or transport, which are most at

Younger people more focused on maximising income than ‘making a difference’ if forced to choose Three-quarters of workers globally (75%) say they want to work for an organisation that will make a ‘positive contribution to society.’ This feeling was especially acute

EU resource productivity gradually increases

in China (87%), India (90%), and South Africa (90%). However, economic insecurity is limiting people’s ability to pursue purpose driven careers, with younger people particularly affected. Overall, 54% of those polled said, if forced to choose, they would prefer a job that enabled them to ‘take every opportunity to maximise their income’ over a job that ‘makes a difference’ (46%). Interestingly, those between 18 and 34 are more likely than other generations to prioritise income over purpose in their job with 57% prioritising ‘maximising their income’ over ‘making a difference’ (43%), a margin of 14 points. Those over 55 prioritise making a difference by a margin of 8 points, which rises to 22 points amongst workers over 65. “As the world continues to grapple with a global health crisis and economic uncertainty, we’ve seen workers come to demand more from the business community, expecting their employers to make a positive contribution to society,” said Peter Brown, Joint Global Leader of PwC’s People and Organization Practice. “Fortunately, focusing on societal impact and maximising profit are not mutually exclusive, and being a purpose-led business can actually help boost your bottom line.” Continued on p. 7

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The FINANCIAL – Since the start of the millennium, resource productivity in the EU gradually increased from €1.2/kg in 2000 to €2.2/kg in 2019. Resource productivity quantifies the relationship between the size of the economy and the use of natural resources. The value of resource productivity increases when the economy, measured by GDP, grows at a faster rate than the consumption of raw materials, measured by domestic material consumption (DMC). After a period of moderate growth, resource productivity increased sharply during the financial and economic crisis

of 2008-2009 resulting from pronounced falls in domestic material consumption. The crisis affected the materialintensive industries of manufacturing and construction more than the rest of the economy. We do not yet have the data to assess the impact of the current COVID-19 crisis.

Resource productivity highest in the Netherlands The level of resource pro-

ductivity varies widely between the EU Member States: from €0.4/kg in Bulgaria and Romania to €5.3/kg in the Netherlands in 2019. After accounting for price differences, the Netherlands remains the EU Member States with the highest resource productivity (4.5 purchasing power standards (PPS) per kg), followed at a distance by Italy (3.7), Luxembourg (3.5) and Belgium (3.4). At the opposite end of the scale, four Member States registered resource productivity below 1.00 - Bulgaria and Romania (both 0.8 PPS/ kg) and Estonia (0.9).

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Ageing: Looming crisis or booming opportunity?

By ARATHI SETHUMADHAVAN World ECONOMIC FORUM, MICROSOFT Megan SAUNDERS Vice PRESIDENT, MICROSOFT CONNECTED CARE

here will be a shift in the global ageing population from 7% today to 20% in the next few decades. This growth will be one of the greatest social, economic, and political transformations of our time. It will force changes in systems, have impact on families, and will require new solutions. Though older adults are a reigning economic segment, the attitudes and stereotypes about ageing still persist and market innovation to meet their needs is lagging behind. Collaboration among policy-makers, civil society, academia, and the private-sector is crucial to creating holistic solutions that promote the safety, autonomy, well-being, and dignity of older adults. Many societies have outdated beliefs about ageing. Older adults are often described as frail, as “challenges” to be addressed, and they are discriminated against, particularly in the workplace, where their experience and knowledge should count. While we celebrate the birth and growth of children and their early adulthood, we fail to respect those with wisdom and important stories

to pass down to younger generations. Marketing companies tend to focus on millennials and Gen Z, but one of the largest economic segments, the baby boomers, are largely forgotten. According to a recent survey, baby boomers in the US are projected to have 70% of disposable income over the next five years yet less than 10% of advertising efforts are directed towards them. As they begin to retire and continue to do so over the next several decades, there is untapped opportunity in the realm of retirement services. Rethinking stereotypical beliefs about ageing and changing the discourse around older adults will positively transform society into one where everyone can age with purpose.

The challenges of getting older By 2050, the number of adults over the age of 65 globally will double, reaching a staggering 1.6 billion, with the largest growth in the developing world. This growth will be one of the greatest social, economic, and political transformations of our time, that will impact existing healthcare, government and social systems, that today are largely not inclusive of the ageing population or built to the scale needed to support it. But we can begin to make investments in our support systems (enabled and scaled by technology) that encompass a coordinated response

from governments, society, academia, and the private sector. A precursor to investing in innovative solutions will be to acknowledge the needs of older adults and identify their caregiving challenges. These are the issues that will inform the solutions agenda. Ageing in place refers to the desire to be independent in a residence of one’s choice and participate in the community. Meaningful social contact and well-being are essential components of ageing in place. Instead of segregating people into communities based on age (like retirement communities), intergenerational living can provide companionship and purpose for older adults.

Independent mobility Driving cessation is associated with increased depressive symptoms and a variety of other health consequences. Therefore, meeting the mobility needs of the older population is crucial to minimizing the adverse impacts on their health and well-being. The health challenges faced by older adults undermine the potential opportunities of increased longevity. Unfortunately, older adults are disproportionately affected by chronic ailments, with 80% of seniors in the US having at least one chronic disease and 70% having at least two. Heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes are among the most common.

Approximately 47.5 million people worldwide have dementia—a number that is predicted to nearly triple by 2050. Social inclusion or active engagement in society via a social network (whether through employment, volunteering, childcare, learning or teaching) has a positive impact on mortality, well-being, and life satisfaction. In fact, the fallout from social isolation and loneliness is estimated to cost US Medicare $6.7 billion per year.

Financial health and reskilling A significant number of low- and medium-income seniors experience financial challenges that require them to extend their retirement plan. With increased longevity, even those individuals who have the means to retire want to stay in the workforce longer but can face age discrimination, despite the fact that an intergenerational workforce that embraces mentoring and reverse mentoring can spark innovation and organizational success.

Diversity in abilities It is important to acknowledge that older adults are a heterogeneous group of individuals, with varying physical, sensory, cognitive,

and sensory abilities. Contrary to popular belief, there is not always a clear relationship between chronological age and health status. In fact, a significant proportion of older Americans are healthy across a broad age range, from 51-54, 55-59 all the way to those aged 85+. There are also variations in educational levels and technological experience among older adults.

Ageing with disability While disability in the older population can arise as a result of agerelated declines in sensory, mobility, and cognitive functions, individuals can also experience disability as a result of pre-existing impairments. In addition to supporting older adults with a range of abilities, it is also important to support those with longterm impairments. For example, someone who was born blind and relied on auditory cues to interact with a system may experience agerelated decline in hearing and may not be able to rely solely on auditory information anymore.

Lack of professional caregivers Continued on p. 8

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Family businesses are well-positioned to lead the revival of the global economy

The FINANCIAL – A new report from the STEP Project Global Consortium and KPMG Private Enterprise has demonstrated how the unique structure of family businesses has empowered them to respond to the impact of COVID-19. The study found that the involvement of the family and their long-term mindset has enabled them to demonstrate resilience in the pandemic, placing them in a key role to lead the economic recovery. The report, titled Mastering a comeback: How family businesses are triumphing over COVID-19, includes insights from nearly 2,500 family businesses and more than 500 non-family businesses. It uncovers three core strategies used by family businesses to address the immediate impact of COVID-19:

Exercising patience: Family businesses are focused on protecting their succession plans and longterm future for the next generation. This long-term mindset has enabled them to leverage their patient capital to understand the full impact of COVID-19 on their business and others in their industry, with a view to adopting plans for the long term, rather than just mitigating the short-term impact of the pandemic. Social responsibility: They took steps to address the impact of the pandemic not only on their family and business, but on the welfare of society, and the needs of all their stakeholders including employees, customers, suppliers and local communities. Business transformation: Fam-

ily businesses were found to be 42 percent more likely to implement business transformation strategies than non-family businesses during the pandemic. Family businesses with multiple generations in the firm were 45 percent more likely to implement a business transformation strategy than single-generation family firms. “One of the key differentiators of family businesses is how they define success. While profits and dividends are important financial measures, success in family businesses is also defined by both financial and nonfinancial objectives, such as control, transgenerational succession, social capital, emotional connection to the firm, and reputation,”Andrea Calabrò, STEP Project Global Consortium Global Academic Director said.

“These non-financial (socioemotional) objectives are important enough in family firms to have a direct impact on their decision making and how they measure success. It also explains why, after taking immediate actions to cushion the financial shock of COVID-19, families turned their attention to longer-term strategies for sustaining the purpose and non-economic value that the family derives from owning and managing the business.” Key findings from Mastering a comeback: How family businesses are triumphing over COVID-19: Sixty nine percent of family businesses reported that COVID-19 resulted in an initial revenue decline, 9 percent reported an increase specifically due to actions taken to pivot

their business, and 22 percent reported no revenue changes. There was an 8.56 percent workforce reduction among family businesses globally, compared to a 10.24 percent reduction in non-family businesses. Three quarters (76 percent) of family firms globally made use of government support programs, primarily in the form of low-cost loan arrangements. There was less interest in government subsidies among family firms compared to non-family businesses. More than 70 percent reported that they maintained their R&D investments and continued to launch new products and services. Continued on p. 11

EU’s material consumption at 14 tonnes per person in 2019 The FINANCIAL – The domestic material consumption of the EU economy stood at 14 tonnes per person in 2019. Non-metallic minerals account for half of this total, biomass for almost a quarter (24%), fossil energy materials for a fifth (20%) and metal ores for 5%.

Domestic material consumption in the EU, by material category, 2019 An analysis of domestic material consumption by material category conveys the relative importance of various materials and their potential for reuse, recovery or recycling. Over time, the consumption patterns of these material categories has

evolved differently. Since the start of the millennium, the consumption of biomass has been fairly stable, unlike the consumption of metal ores and non-metallic minerals, which was particularly influenced by the financial and economic crisis of 20082009. The consumption of fossil energy materials gradually decreased over the past two decades.

Differences in material consumption across the EU The level of domestic material consumption differs significantly across the EU Member States: from 8 tonnes per person in Spain to almost 32 tonnes per person in Finland. Domestic material consumption in Continued on p. 8

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FINCHANNEL.COM | 22 March, 2021

How digital platforms are reshaping our cities

More than a fifth of the EU population are aged 65 or over The FINANCIAL

n 2020, 20.6% of the EU population was aged 65 years or over; this was 3.0 percentage points higher than the corresponding share from a decade earlier. This article looks into the elderly population across EU regions, older people being considered at higher risk from the COVID-19. Across the EU Member States, the highest share of the elderly in the total population in 2020 was observed in Italy (23.2%), followed by Greece and Finland (22.3% each), Portugal (22.1%), Germany (21.8%) and Bulgaria (21.6%). The lowest shares were recorded in Ireland (14.4%) and in Luxembourg (14.5%). At regional level, the highest shares of elderly people were found in Chemnitz (29.3%) in Germany, followed by Liguria (28.7%) in Italy, Epirus (27.3%) in Greece, Limousin (27.1%) in France and Saxony-Anhalt (27.0%) in Germany. The lowest shares were recorded in two overseas regions of France: Mayotte (2.7%) and French Guiana (6.1%), and the Spanish autonomous region of Melilla (11.1%).

Pandemic has accelerated digital upskilling, but key groups still miss out - PwC survey Continued from p. 4

Employees want the option to work remotely moving forward

The FINANCIAL -- Anyone exploring a new city uses digital platforms. We decide where we want to drink coffee with Yelp, we find our way with Google Maps and a place to sleep with Airbnb. But while these platforms help us with this, they simultaneously change the city According to University of Amsterdam. Petter Törnberg (Geography, Planning and International Development Studies, University of Amsterdam) is researching exactly how. He received a Veni grant for his project ‘Seeing the city through digital platforms’. Törnberg knows from personal experience about the consequences that platforms like Airbnb can have: he was evicted from the apartment in New York where he completed his thesis because the owner wanted to rent out the house through Airbnb since that would make him much more money, according to University of Amsterdam. But the platforms not only have an economic impact, their algorithms and interfaces are also reshaping how we experience cities, how think about them and how we imagine them. What exactly are you going to research? ‘I study how cities are portrayed in reviews, posts and descriptions on digital platforms such as Airbnb, Yelp and TripAdvisor, and how these

representations are reflected in the city and affect urban life. Platforms have their own logic; because of their design and algorithms, certain forms of content tend to become more visible. Consider Instagram, for example: the images that work well are eye-catching, colourful, and simple enough to work on a small screen. This logic leaks into the city, as restaurants, cafes or museums try to become more visible on the platforms. In a way, the cities have become partly digital. This can be seen in, for example, cafes in Amsterdam that have created decorative walls displaying bicycles, quotes or hashtags for people to use as backgrounds for their selfies. This example is fairly harmless, but digital culture can also have more serious consequences – it can become part of the dynamics of phenomena like gentrification and overtourism. It can even lead to conflicts over the right to define an urban place.‘ What do you mean by this can lead to conflict? ‘Because the platforms are driven by economic interests, they promote certain ways of interacting with the city, emphasising a consumptionoriented or what we might call a touristic relationship with the city. And this can affect other ways of relating to the city. Airbnb is selling, as they say in their slogan, the ability to

“belong anywhere” – but the question is how this affects others’ sense of belonging.’ Airbnb is selling, as they say in their slogan, the ability to “belong anywhere” – but the question is how this affects others’ sense of belonging Do you have any concrete examples of this? ‘Take the Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York. This church has served a local AfricanAmerican congregation for decades. But a few years ago, churchgoers noticed a shift: more and more white visitors were coming to the church services. But they weren’t there to pray: they had cameras and selfie sticks with them. The church had suddenly become a tourist destination. What had happened was that the church had been “discovered” on review websites such as Yelp and TripAdvisor, and had begun to rise in several lists of the “top tourist sites of the city”. The tourists flocked to experience what some reviews described as an “authentic experience of black culture”, and others as just a “free concert”. Many of the congregation members felt uncomfortable, and no longer at home in their church, because their personal worship and prayers were being filmed by tourists. This illustrates how platforms can cause conflicts over the

right to an urban place.‘ How will you investigate this influence? ‘I am adapting recent methods in natural language processing to use geographically localised text data. This allows me to study how geographic space is represented in millions of reviews and posts, creating a map of the cultural representation of a city. Using these methods, I can see how the representation of neighbourhoods changes as the neighbourhood gentrifies, for example. I will use this as part of a critical and interpretive approach to studying the cultures of cities. In doing so, I am focusing on Rio de Janeiro, Amsterdam and New York.’ What can policymakers do with your research? ‘The impact of these platforms is something that really occupies policymakers, not least here in Amsterdam. The municipality of Amsterdam grapples quite openly with the image people have of the city and what kind of visitors it attracts. I hope to contribute to a better understanding of how platforms are part of shaping this image, and will provide tools to get hard data on how the city and its neighbourhoods are represented, and how this representation is changing.

The survey concludes that remote working will persist post-lockdown. Of those who can work remotely, 72% of say they prefer a mixture of in-person and remote working, with only 9% stating they’d like to go back to their traditional work environment full-time. This is particularly true of professionals, office workers, business owners and the selfemployed, all of whom are able to perform their jobs remotely using technology. Home working need not be limited to professional jobs. 43% of manual workers and 45% of semiskilled workers say there are many elements of their job that they are able to do remotely. People’s attitudes to working from home also change by location, providing further evidence of how the pandemic has increased the global digital divide. Workers in metropolitan areas (66%) are more likely to work in roles that could allow remote working than those who live in rural areas (44%).

Workers torn on privacy and technology 44% of workers globally would agree to let their employer use technology to monitor their performance at work including sensors and wearable devices, with 31% against. However, many would not go as far as allowing their employers access to their personal data. 41% of respondents said that they were unwilling to give their employer access to their personal data including social media profiles, with only 35% willing.

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fact check

22 March, 2021 | FINCHANNEL.COM

Ageing: Looming crisis or booming opportunity?

Levan Davitashvili

Continued from p. 4

STATEMENT:

“GEORGIA’S FRUIT INDUSTRY’S EXPORTS IN 2020 WERE USD 169 MILLION AND USD 120 MILLION IN THE YEAR BEFORE; THAT IS, WE HAVE A 40% GROWTH.”

VERDICT:

FACTCHECK CONCLUDES THAT LEVAN DAVITASHVILI’S STATEMENT IS TRUE. Veriko SUKHIASHVILI FactCheck

RESUME:

Total fruit exports in 2020 reached USD 169 million (134,262 tonnes) which is 40% more as compared to 2019’s figure of USD 120 million (98,268 tonnes). There is a growth both in fruit exports in general and exports of certain types of fruits. The growth in the export of peaches, blueberries, chestnuts, almonds and grapes are most evident. However, Russia still remains as a leading export market for Georgian fruit. EU member states are the leading export destinations for Georgian hazelnuts (they account for 78.4% of Georgia’s total hazelnut exports). Given these figures, Levan Davitashvili’s statement is TRUE.

ANALYSIS

At the joint session of committees of the Parliament of Georgia, the then candidate for Minister Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Levan Davitashvili, highlighted fruit exports whilst speaking about agriculture exports and stated: “Georgia’s fruit industry’s exports in 2020 were USD 169 million and they were USD 120 million the year before which constitutes a 40% growth” (20 February 2020, 13:39, Parliament of Georgia). There was a total of USD 942.2 million worth of agrofood exports from Georgia in 2020 which is 6% more as compared to 2019’s figure. The basic export items are: wine (22%), spirits (14%) mineral and drinking water (12%), hazelnuts (10%), nonalcoholic carbonated drinks (3%), etc. In 2020, Georgia’s agrofood was exported to 92

countries. In regard to the export of hazelnuts, USD 169 million worth of hazelnuts (134,262 tonnes) was exported from Georgia in 2020. The same figure in 2019 was USD 120 million (98,268 tonnes). Therefore, fruit exports in 2020 indeed increased by 40% as stated by Levan Davitashvili. As illustrated by the table, the total fruit exports in 2020, including exports of some types of fruits, have increased both in quantity (tonnes) and in export revenues (USD million). Apples are the only exception whose export volume dropped (by 224 tonnes), although export revenue has increased (by USD 505,000). As compared to 2019, exports of peaches, blueberries, chestnuts, almonds and grapes increased the most. The export destinations for Georgian fruits are of interest. EU member states account for 78.4% of Georgia’s total hazelnuts exports. Apart from the EU, the largest volumes of hazelnuts were exported to the following countries: Russia - 4%, Armenia - 4%, Belarus - 3.7%, etc. Russia is the top export destination for Georgia’s peaches with 80.8% of total exports going there. Armenia accounts for 17.2% of the export of Georgian peaches. The share of EU countries is 0.6%, Ukraine’s share is 0.6% and Azerbaijan’s share is 0.6%, etc. The largest volume of tangerines; that is, 71.5% of total exports, went to Russia. Armenia is the second export destination with 16.3%, Ukraine is next with 8.7%, the EU follows with 0.5%, etc. Russia is also the top destination for Georgia’s export of apples with 91%, followed by Armenia with 4.4%, Azer-

baijan with 2.2%, the EU by 0.3%, etc. Russia also accounts for more than half of Georgia’s total persimmon export with 59.2%, again followed by Ukraine with 23.4% and Armenia with 16.4%. There were no persimmons exported to the EU. Around 94% of exported blueberries went to Russia whilst EU member states account for only 1.4%. There were 2% and 1.5% of blueberries exported to Armenia and the UAE, respectively. Russia accounts of 35.9% of the total exports of Georgian chestnuts, followed by EU member states with 28.6%, Armenia with 12.7%, Azerbaijan with 13.5%, Lebanon with 8.5%, etc. Armenia leads as a top export destination for Georgia’s pears with 61.4%. Russia is the second importer with 34.4%, followed by Azerbaijan with 3.5%, etc. Kyrgyzstan accounts for 94.3% of Georgia’s export of almonds. Ukraine’s share here is 5.7%. The largest amount of grapes; that is, 80.1%, was exported to Russia. Azerbaijan accounts for 6.3% of Georgia’s export of grapes, followed by Armenia with 6.2%, Ukraine by 5.4% and EU member states with 0.4%. The aforementioned examples illustrated that Russia is still a top export market for Georgian fruits with most of them going as exports to Russia. Hazelnuts, pears and almonds are the exceptions. EU member states are the leading export destinations for hazelnuts (78.4% of total exports). Given all the aforementioned, Levan Davitashvili’s statement is TRUE.

Table 1: Fruit Exports in 2019-2020

Item

2019 ( USD 1000 )

2020 ( USD 1000)

2019 (Tonnes)

2020 (Tonnes)

2019 (Border Price ($/kilo)

2020 (Border Price ($/kilo

Hazelnuts

63,343

91,088

12,361

16,651

5.12

5.47

Peaches

12,480

21,449

13,256

25,398

0.94

0.84

Tangerines

18,420

21,739

35,626

43,446

0.52

0.50

Apples

4,593

5,098

11,422

11,198

0.40

0.46

Persimmons

4,201

5,679

8,029

10,644

0.52

0.53

Blueberries

983

3,823

199

668

4.93

5.73

Chestnuts

280

656

175

492

1.6

1.33

Peaches

196

326

191

357

1.02

0.91

Almonds

264

801

125

227

2.12

3.53

Grapes

361

462

0.81

0.78

Cherries

306

830

193

512

1.58

1.62

Other fruits

15,076

17,340

16,592

24,206

Total

120,222

169,189

98,268

134,262

Source: Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia

Globally, health and social care systems are struggling to meet the needs of older adults. For example, a recent longitudinal study conducted in the United Kingdom revealed that more than 50% of older adults who needed assistance with daily activities get no support. There is a palpable need for a sustainable social care system with enough care workers to manage an ageing population in several nations across the globe including Germany, India, Japan and the United States.

Family caregiver burden The growth in the population of older adults coupled with the desire to age in place and the shortage of professional care providers is requiring families and friends to fill the gaps. In the US, one in five adults are caregivers. Coordinating the care across the care continuum, which disproportionality effects women, includes balancing healthcare decisions, care plan adherence, and medications. General tasks associated with the dayto-day care for a loved one is stressful and expensive. As a result, family caregivers suffer from cognitive overload, balance of time and especially relationship loss as they shift from the role of daughter, son or spouse to a caregiver role. In fact, family caregivers suffer a significantly higher rate of depression. Our research also indicates that family caregiving represents $1.2 trillion in economic loss in the US alone. Losses comprise unpaid labour, low business productivity, lost salaries, and increased medical costs totaling almost $100 billion (partly resulting from high rates of caregiver depression).

A multistakeholder approach to ageing Catering to the needs of an ageing population is a largely untapped opportunity, but the space is fragmented. This presents a challenge, but also a space for a broader ecosys-

tem to grow, where brand, trust and reliability from a multistakeholder base are critical for scaling up innovation. To truly bring the holistic services needed to market, device makers, developers, enterprises such as retirement homes and insurance companies, civil society, policymakers, and academia should come together to develop a unified platform that includes Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence. More importantly, older adults must be at the centre of this change, where their values and perspectives are included in the solutions.

Technology trends and predictions Technology has the potential to enhance individual lives, facilitate caregiving, and improve the delivery of services. Contrary to popular belief, more seniors have embraced digital technologies than ever before, with perceived benefits and usability driving adoption. Specific areas of technology that are being explored to meet the needs of older adults include: Telemedicine Tablets for communication and entertainment “Smart” platforms that integrate electronic medical records (EMRs) and electronic health records with AI and analytics Wearables Voice, touch, motion, and other assistive technologies Connected IoT devices and sensors Technologies for safety (monitoring and alert devices) Sensory aids (e.g., hearing devices) Gig economy services (e.g., meal delivery) Self-driving cars Robots Microsoft is one of the organizations investing in this space. For example, Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare helps manage health data at scale by providing personalized care, transforming data into patient insights, enabling virtual care and care team collaboration, optimizing treatment by combining IoT and analytics, and promoting data interoperability.

Microsoft Azure Kinect and Teams is being used for rehabilitation at homes, allowing patients and therapists to communicate with each other. These are meeting some aspects of the challenge – but there is a much broader opportunity across different sectors that will require a coordinated approach to succeed at scale. What is the World Economic Forum doing to combat Alzheimer’s? Alzheimer’s Diesease, a result of rapid ageing that causes dementia, is a growing concern. Dementia, the seventh leading cause of death worldwide, cost the world $1.25 trillion in 2018, and affected about 50 million people in 2019. Without major breakthroughs, the number of people affected will triple by 2050, to 152 million. To catalyse the fight against Alzheimer’s, the World Economic Forum is partnering with the Global CEO Initiative (CEOi) to form a coalition of public and private stakeholders – including pharmaceutical manufacturers, biotech companies, governments, international organizations, foundations and research agencies. The initiative aims to advance pre-clinical research to advance the understanding of the disease, attract more capital by lowering the risks to investment in biomarkers, develop standing clinical trial platforms, and advance healthcare system readiness in the fields of detection, diagnosis, infrastructure and access. The economic impact of ageing will be massive, but the burden on individuals and their families and the healthcare system itself will be even larger. There is a present opportunity to help people and businesses achieve more. With the retirement industry in the US targeted somewhere in the hundreds of billions, it is large today and set to grow over the next decade. A further 98 countries are expected to have an even higher proportion of people aged 65-plus than the US by 2050. This is not only a market that is poised for monetization – but investment into it is essential to the sustainability and dignity of communities, worldwide.

EU’s material consumption at 14 tonnes per person in 2019 Continued from p. 6

each country is influenced by natural endowments with material resources, which may form an important structural element of each economy.

Domestic material consumption, by material

category, 2019 Furthermore, consumption of the main material categories also varies across EU Member States. In 2019, consumption of non-metallic minerals ranged from 2 tonnes per person in the Netherlands to 21 tonnes per person in Romania. Cross-country differences can be a result of varied levels of construction activity (investments), population density and size of transport infrastructure such as road

networks. Biomass consumption also varies greatly across the EU: from a tonne per person in Malta to 8 tonnes per person in Denmark and Ireland. Economies with high biomass consumption are often specialised in timber production (Finland) or certain livestock production (Ireland, Denmark). Consumption of fossil energy material stood at around 3 tonnes per person at EU level and differences across countries were less marked.

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Vaccine Hesitancy More Likely in Young People, Women and Some Ethnic Groups The FINANCIAL -- Young people, women and some ethnic groups, including black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi groups, are less likely to takeup a COVID-19 vaccine when offered, according to new research according to University of Glasgow. In a new large-scale UKwide study, led by the University of Glasgow in collaboration with the University of Essex, researchers looked at vaccine hesitancy in the population alongside the reasons why the COVID-19 vaccine would be accepted or refused. Their findings are published today in the journal Brain Behaviour and Immunity and were based on data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study. Overall intention to have the COVID-19 vaccine was high, with 53.5% of participants very likely to and a further 28.5% likely to take up vaccination when offered. However, there were marked differences in some population subgroups including black people, Pakistani and Bangladeshi groups and younger age groups. The study found that black or black British were the ethnic group with the highest rate of vaccine hesitancy, with 71.8% of the people surveyed in that group reporting that they wouldn’t have a COVID-19 vaccination. Pakistani and Bangladeshi groups were the next most vaccine hesitant

Mamuka Mdinaradze

STATEMENT:

“GEORGIA HAS ADVANCED IN EACH AND EVERY ASPECT OF ECONOMIC FREEDOM (HERITAGE FOUNDATION) AND IT IS PLACED IN THE GROUP OF MOSTLY FREE ECONOMIES.”

VERDICT:

FACTCHECK CONCLUDES THAT MAMUKA MDINARADZE’S STATEMENT IS MOSTLY FALSE.

ethnic group, with 42.3% reporting they wouldn’t take-up vaccination when offered. A higher proportion of female participants indicated vaccine hesitancy, 21% compared to 14.7% of male participants. Younger age groups were also more vaccine hesitant with 28.3% of younger adults aged 25-34 reporting they wouldn’t take up the vaccine, compared to only 14.3% in the 55-64 age group, 8.1% in the 65-74 age group and 4.5% in the 75+ age group. Vaccine hesitancy was also inversely linked with education, with the most educated least likely to be vaccine hesitant. As University of Glasgow notes, the main reasons for vaccine hesitancy were concerns over future unknown effects of a vaccine, with 42.7% citing this as their main reason. Reasons for

vaccine hesitancy were often similar across ethnic groups however, when compared to the White British/Irish group, Black/Black British participants were more likely to state they ‘Don’t trust vaccines’ (29.2% vs 5.7%) and the Pakistani/Bangladeshi ethnic group reported worries about side-effects (35.4% vs 8.6%). The two ethnic groups most likely to take up the COVID-19 vaccine when offered were the white British and Irish groups with 84.8% being likely or very likely to take a vaccine, and the any other Asian background group, which includes participants of Chinese ethnicity, 86.1% of which said they would take up the vaccine. Continued on p. 10

How do earnings vary across the EU?

Vakhtang DEMURIA FactCheck

RESUME:

Mamuka Mdinaradze refers to the Heritage Foundation’s economic freedom index. The Heritage Foundation measures the degree of the economic freedom (Economic Freedom Index) of over 180 countries every year. Twelve components are used to determine the ranking. Georgia’s overall score has been on the rise in 2012-2021. As compared to the previous period, Georgia’s indicators have worsened in 2021’s ranking in the following components: property rights, government integrity, business freedom, monetary freedom and trade freedom whilst the indicators for investment freedom and financial freedom have not changed. As of 2021, Georgia’s indicators have worsened as compared to 2012 in the following components: business freedom, labour freedom and trade freedom. Of note is that the judicial effectiveness component, which has been measured since 2017, also worsened. Despite the general positive dynamic, Georgia has not advanced in every aspect of the ranking. Therefore, Mr Mdinaradze’s claim that Georgia progresses in each and every component is inaccurate. In terms of the rating, Georgia belongs to the group of mostly free countries. According to the 2021 Economic Freedom Index, Georgia is ranked 12th with 77.2 points worldwide and is the 7th freest economy of 45 European nations. In 2012, Georgia was ranked 21st worldwide and, therefore, Georgia’s eco-

nomic freedom did progress, although indicators for certain components have indeed worsened.

ANALYSIS

Georgian Dream parliamentary faction leader, Mamuka Mdinaradze, stated: “Georgia has advanced in each and every aspect of economic freedom. According to the 2021 Economic Freedom Index, Georgia is ranked 12th with a 77.2 total score and is named as the 7th freest economy out of 45 European nations. Georgia is placed in the Index’s group of mostly free economies.” The Heritage Foundation, founded in 1973, is one of the world’s highly respected research and educational institutions. The aim of the Heritage Foundation is to carry out highly-qualified studies in the fields of the economy and politics and deliver them to their target consumers. Since 1995, the Heritage Foundation has been measuring the degree of the economic freedom (Economic Freedom Index) of over 180 countries every year which is currently determined based on 12 components. These components are merged into four main groups: Rule of Law (property rights, judicial effectiveness, government integrity). Government size (fiscal health, government spending, tax burden). Regulatory efficiency (business freedom, labour freedom, monetary freedom). Market openness (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom). Each of these parameters is ranked between 0 and 100 (with 0 meaning the lowest economic freedom and 100

Table 1: Georgia’s Indicators in the 2012-2021 Economic Freedom Index

ross monthly earnings vary considerably across the EU. In 2018, the median monthly earnings varied from EUR 4 057 per month in Denmark to EUR 442 in Bulgaria. The median is defined as a

‘middle value’: half of the employees earn less and the other half earn more than the median value of earnings. Joining Denmark at the top of the list was Luxembourg with median earnings of EUR 3 671 per month, followed by Sweden (EUR 3 135), Belgium (EUR 3 092), Ire-

land (EUR 3 021), Finland (EUR 2 958) and Germany (EUR 2 891). At the other end of the scale, Bulgaria stood out with its median monthly earnings of EUR 442. The countries coming closest were Romania with EUR 700 per month, Hungary with EUR 801 and Lithuania with EUR 809.

Source: Heritage Foundation

meaning the highest economic freedom) and shown in a percentage. Of note is that each component or subcomponent has equal weight for the final score and none of them has any advantage. Of additional note is that the Heritage Foundation’s annual index is based on information which is a year to a year-anda-half old. Therefore, figures are taken from the second half of 2019 to the first half of 2020 for 2021’s Economic Freedom Index. In sum, as stated by Mr Mdinaradze, according to 2021 Economic Freedom Index, Georgia is ranked 12th with a 77.2 total score and is named as the 7th freest economy out of 45 European nations. In 2012, Georgia was ranked 21st worldwide and, therefore, the country’s economic freedom did progress. The countries are conditionally grouped into the following sub-groups – Free, Mostly Free, Moderately Free, Moderately Unfree and Unfree. Georgia is placed in the group of Mostly Free countries. Georgia’s overall score has been on the rise in 2012-2021 and increased as compared to both 2020 and 2021. According to 2021’s data, Georgia’s indicators worsened in the following components as compared to 2020: property rights, government integrity, business freedom, monetary freedom and trade freedom. According to 2021’s data, Georgia’s indicators worsened in the following components as compared to 2012: business freedom, labour freedom and trade freedom. Of note is that the judicial effectiveness component, which has been measured since 2017, also worsened.

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HEADLINE NEWS & ANALYSIS 22 March, 2021 | FINCHANNEL.COM

New York Continues To Head Up The Global Financial Centres Index Ratings

The FINANCIAL -- New York again headed the rankings in the Global Financial Centres Index 29, launched today by Z/Yen Group in partnership with the China Development Institute (CDI) in London and Hong Kong. London fell to only one point ahead of third-place Shanghai. Hong Kong moved up a place to fourth, one point behind Shanghai, with Singapore in the fifth position. Tokyo dropped three places from fourth to seventh. Frankfurt replaced San Francisco in the top 10 in this edition, gaining seven rank places, perhaps benefiting from the exit of the UK from the

European Union. GFCI 29 shows a relatively high level of stability in the top half of the index, with few centres changing 10 or more places in the rankings. In the lower half of the index, there was more volatility, perhaps reflecting some uncertainty about the resilience of emerging and smaller centres. The average rating of centres in the index dropped only 3.5 points (-0.55%) from GFCI 28 (41 points from GFCI 27 to GFCI 28), which may indicate more confidence in the financial system than in the first stages of the covid-19 pandemic. The fact that overall ratings have

not recovered to the levels that we saw in 2019 reflects the continuing uncertainty around international trade, the impact of the covid-19 pandemic, and geopolitical and local unrest. Nine of the top 10 centres in the index fell in the ratings, with London and Tokyo falling over 10 points. With the top centres dropping, might this be due to central banks taking the reins during covid-19? The top 20 centres in GFCI 29 are shown in the table below. FinTech • New York continues to lead the FinTech ranking, followed by Shang-

hai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and London. • Tel Aviv and Los Angeles enter the top 10. “GFCI 29 ratings have not returned to the levels of 2019, reflecting a welter of instability in international trade, politics, and economics, not least large-scale interventions by central banks and questions about the future treatment of commercial banks, insurers, and payment providers. ‘Building back’ will see major changes to investments and taxation. GFCI is most active on the Pacific Rim. Only 44 points on a thousand point scale separate the top 10 centres. A four-point rise would place Sin-

gapore second only to New York. It’s tight at the top, and no time for complacency,” Professor Michael Mainelli, Executive Chairman of Z/ Yen, said. GFCI 29 rates 114 financial centres across the world combining assessments from financial professionals with quantitative data which form instrumental factors. GFCI 29 uses 65,507 financial centre assessments collected from 10,774 financial services professionals who responded to the GFCI online questionnaire. The GFCI is updated regularly and ratings change as assessments and instrumental factors change.

Vaccine Hesitancy More Likely in Young People, Women and Some Ethnic Groups Continued from p. 9

Professor Vittal Katikireddi, lead author of the study from the University of Glasgow MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, said: “Our study data shows a positive picture in terms of being willing to vaccinated overall, however the

research does highlight that very large differences in vaccine hesitancy exist by ethnicity, with some but not all minority ethnic groups being hesitant. “These differences highlight the potential to widen health inequalities, and therefore the importance of deliberate efforts to engage with these groups as a priority. Initiatives

to improve uptake in Black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic groups within the UK should continue to be a priority – for example, by working in close partnership with communities and making use of community champions.” When asked what would most convince participants to take the vaccine, 43.2% of Black/Black Brit-

ish maintained that they would not take it, while a further 44.7% reported that they would if the vaccine was demonstrated to be safe. Pakistani and Bangladeshi participants reported that they may be persuaded if the vaccine reduced their risk of catching COVID-19 and if it was demonstrated to be safe. The paper, ‘Predictors of CO-

VID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the UK Household Longitudinal Study’ is published in Brain Behaviour and Immunity. The work is funded by the Medical Research Council and Scotland’s Chief Scientist Office. The Understanding Society COVID-19 study is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Health Foundation.

HEADLINE NEWS & ANALYSIS FINCHANNEL.COM | 22 March, 2021

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Sharing a Household with Young Children Appears to put Adults at no Greater COVID-19 Risk The FINANCIAL -- A new study suggests adults living with children are at no greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 – even during periods when schools are open and there is active transmission of SARS-CoV2 in the community according to University of Glasgow. The research – led by the University of Glasgow in partnership with Public Health Scotland and published today in Archives of Disease in Childhood – also suggests the risk of testing positive with COVID-19 was actually lower for those adults living in a household with a child between the ages of 0 and 11, than it was for those in households without young children. As University of Glasgow notes, the risk was lower still for adults who lived in households with two or more children under 11 years-old. The study, which looked at a large occupational cohort of the population, has the potential to inform future policy on nursery and school closure. Using Scotland-wide data of all NHS Scotland healthcare workers and their household contacts between March and October 2020, the research team were able to examine what affect sharing that household with young children might have on COVID-19 risk. It’s is currently understood that young children are much less likely than adults to have a severe COVID-19 infection, with most having mild or no symptoms at all. Scientists do not yet fully understand why this happens, though theories such as innate immune system response and cross-infection immunity as a result of exposure to other coronaviruses have been suggested. According to University of Glasgow, the researchers believe that these findings provide evidence of a potentially interesting protective effect against COVID-19 infection in households with young children – an area they now believe warrants further study. Dr David McAllister of the University of Glasgow, lead author of the study, said: “This study provides new evidence of a potentially interesting protective effect that young

children may have on the rest of their household. “Any protective effect of children on COVID-19 rate and severity in their household contacts would seem likely to involve cross-reactive immunity to endemic coronavirus infections acquired outside the home – for instance at nursery or school. Evidence of similarity between N proteins of SARS-CoV-2 and those of endemic beta coronaviruses (strains Cov-OC43 and Cov-NL63) have now been shown in research studies, and there is also evidence of crossreactivity in antibody-mediated

immunity, although it is currently uncertain how well this protects against COVID-19. Our study highlights that more research is needed to understand if young children are conferring some protection to those around them.” Dr Rachael Wood Clinical lead for Maternal and Child Health at Public Health Scotland, and an author of the study, said: “This study adds to existing evidence on the limited role that children play in the transmission of COVID-19. More work is needed to explore the idea that living with children might offer adults

some protection from infection, but what we can already safely say is that children are not major drivers of COVID-19 transmission. Spending time playing with others their age is essential for children. However, this does sometimes mean that adults from different households will be brought together. When this happens, it is important for parents (as well as teachers and carers) to follow the hygiene and social distancing rules that are in force, to minimise the risk of infection spreading between adults. According to University of

Glasgow, it is also important that local authorities ensure that children have access to outdoor play areas where the risks of transmission are known to be much lower, especially in parts of the country where access to private outdoor space is limited.” The paper, ‘Living with Children and Adults’ Risk of COVID-19: Observational Study’ is published in Archives of Disease in Childhood. Dr McAllister is funded by Wellcome David McAllister and would like to thank the Wellcome Trust for allowing him to divert his time to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Family businesses are well-positioned to lead the revival of the global economy Continued from p. 6

Patience and long-term thinking The size, scale and age of the business also contributed to how businesses chose to respond to COVID-19. The report concludes that because older business families have been so committed to sustaining entrepreneurship across the generations, this has led them to act carefully and focus on longer-term solutions. Their patient capital and financial resources, especially among older and larger family businesses, al-

lowed them to withstand major changes and challenges to their operations in the short term and to identify opportunities for the long term. “For many family businesses, an unexpected and positive outcome of the pandemic was the gift of time.”, Tom McGinness, Global Leader, Family Business, KPMG Private Enterprise. “With a slowdown in their business operations, several family business leaders found they now had the time to explore ideas for new products, new markets and extensions of their business that had been in consideration for several years. Others took the time to look seriously at ways to streamline their operations, including implementing new digital solutions, and to focus on important family issues

such as succession planning and their ownership structures.”

Greater family involvement led to greater social responsibility The report identifies two key factors that influenced families’ strategy decisions: whether the business is led by a family or non-family CEO, and whether the company shares are owned by a small or large number of family members. Businesses led by a family-CEO and with high family involvement

were more likely to adopt a social responsibility strategy as one of their choices was to focus on the welfare of employees and the communities where the family lives and operates. Whereas, if a family business is led by a non-family executive or with lower family involvement, there was a higher likelihood that the business leader made difficult decisions to soften the impact on the business such as reducing employee numbers, general cost cutting and potential restructuring.

Multiple generations working together have

accelerated business transformation The study reveals the pivotal role that multiple generations of the family have played in their response to COVID-19. When two or more generations of the family are involved in the business, nextgeneration family members have helped to advance two critical agendas: their firms’ rapid digital advancement and putting ESG in the strategy spotlight. This meant that 70 percent of families reported that they maintained their R&D investments and continued to launch new products and services throughout the pandemic.

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