Since 2004 Georgia's economy was growing steadily at an average rate of 10.5% per annum, until August 2008 when conflict with the Russian Federation broke out and interrupted this growth. The conflict eroded investor confidence, resulted in bank deposit withdrawals, built pressure on the exchange rate, and contracted bank lending. ADB rallied to help Georgia address emergency needs through the Emergency Assistance for Post-Conflict Recovery approved in December 2009. However, Georgia was hit again by international financial crisis of 2008, which further decelerated growth, decreased foreign direct investments, worsened the banking situation, and led to credit squeeze. ADB's Growth Recovery Support Program for Georgia was launchedto mitigate the adverse economic and social impact of the global economic crisis.
This study validates the completion report's assessment of the project, whose objective was to help implement a countercyclical fiscal stimulus response with immediate expenditure execution rates within 2009 and thus help the Georgian economy return to pre-crisis trajectory of growth and social development. IED overall assessment: Successful