Alexi Gugushvili
Visiting Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School
Multidisciplinary Program in Inequality and Social Policy
PhD Researcher at the European University Institute
Department of Political and Social Sciences
Current address: 79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA, Tel: +18572509181
Email: Alexi_Gugushvili@HKS.Harvard.edu
Address: Via dei Roccettini 9, San Domenico di Fiesole
Florence, 50014, ITALY, Tel: +393662543363
Email: Alexi.Gugushvili@EUI.eu
Research
In my PhD project I concentrate on the emerging welfare state and social stratification regimes in the less successful Eastern European societies. My particular interests include links between public policies and intergenerational social mobility and stratification, emigration intentions, and welfare attitudes. In addition, I have recently worked on old-age pension and social assistance reforms, welfare research framework, life course, poverty, social exclusion and material deprivation, vocational education and citizenship.
Activities
March 31, 2012: Recently I was asked by the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs to update my 2009 paper on the political economy of pension reforms in Georgia. A few years ago, pension reform was my primary research area and I still maintain interest in this subject. The main conclusion I draw from the research is that in the post 2012-2013 election-cycle decisive steps should be taken based on hard evidence, rather than ideological conviction. Here you can access my report as well as other interesting studies from the region.
February 25, 2012: On February 24 I presented the working draft of my social mobility paper at the Working Group on Social and Economic Inequality (IWG), European University Institute, chaired by Professor Fabrizio Bernardi. The recieved comments will be instumental to revise and improve my study. You can access the Working Group's Schedule of Spring Term 2012 right here.
December 19, 2011: I attended ECSR 20th Anniversary Conference: European Society or Societies? A 20-Year Perspective last week, which was held in Dublin, Ireland. I presented draft of my paper provisionally titled "Social Stratification in Less Successful Post-socialist Societies: Twenty Years After."This presentation was part of the section on social stratification and mobility.
September 12, 2011: Last week I attended the 10th Conference of European Sociological Association which was held in Geneva, Switzerland. More specifically, I participated in the Research Network of Sociology of Migration where I presented paper on "social stratification, welfare state and emigration intentions: the case of less successful transitional societies" and I also was involved in work of the East and West in Europe Research Stream where I distributed my draft paper on social stratification in less successful post-socialist societies.
July 29, 2011: In the remaining of the summer, together with my colleague from Cambridge University, Maia Chankseliani, I will work on the external evaluation of the European Training Foundation (ETF) activities on quality assurance in Georgia. The work is conducted for the Public Policy and Management Institute.
June 30, 2011: I have just have been granted a formal appointment, from August 31 to December 31, 2011, as a Visiting Research Fellow in the Harvard Kennedy School's Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy, which houses the Harvard Multidisciplinary Program in Inequality and Social Policy. I will continue working on several papers and reports at Harvard, trying simultaneously utilise as much as possible out from my visit from this world's best academic and research institution.
May 18, 2011: From July to December 2011, I will be working for the European Union Democracy Observatory (EUDO) on CITIZENSHIP, on preparation of new national report on citizenship laws and policies in Georgia. EUDO CITIZENSHIP is an observatory within the European Union Observatory on Democracy web platform hosted at the Robert Schuman Centre of the European University Institute in Florence. It is co-directed by Rainer Baubock (EUI, Department of Political and Social Sciences) and Jo Shaw (University of Edinburgh Law School)
December 23, 2010: I am currently working on a paper on material deprivation, social class and life course, which I am going to present at the International Conference on Social Inclusion in Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia to be held next Spring in Bratislava. The event is organised by the UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre and will attract leading academics, experts and researchers from different disciplines to present and discuss their research and policy recommendations on social inclusion.
November 27, 2010: I have been recently selected for the ERSTE Foundation Fellowship "Generations in Dialogue" within which I will explore how emigration and welfare institutions are interconnected in several transitional economies.
Publications
Gugushvili, A. (2011). Understanding Poverty in Georgia. Caucasus Analytical Digest, No. 34, 21 December
Gugushvili, A. (2011). Explaining trust in local government: The case of the Southern Caucasus. Development and Transition, 22 September.
Gugushvili, A. (2011). Material deprivation, social class and life course in the Balkans, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Studies of Transition States and Societies, Vol. 3, 1, pp. 39-54.
Gugushvili, A. (2010). Towards a welfare research framework in the countries of Eastern Partnership Initiative. Journal of East European and Asian Studies, Vol. 1, 3, pp. 349-379.
Gugushvili, A. (2009). Political economy of old-age pension reforms in Georgia. Caucasian Review of International Affairs, Vol. 3, 4, pp. 371-386.
Gugushvili, A. (2007). Given the ageing of the population how can countries afford Pay-As-You-Go social insurance pensions? ICFAI Journal of Risk and Insurance, July Issue, pp. 45-57.
Reports
Gugushvili, A. (2012). The (non) Reform of the Georgian Pension system, 1991-2011: A Brief History and Update. Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI). Oslo: Norway.
Chankseliani, M., & Gugushvili, A. (2011). External Evaluation of the European Training Foundation (ETF), A European Union Agency. Annex 1: Case Study - Georgia, Extended Report. Public Policy and Management Institute. Vilnius, Lithuania.
Gugushvili, A., & Bernardi, F. (2010). Education, Class and Poverty. Conference background paper. Florence, Italy.
Task Force for Regional Development in Georgia (Co-author) (2009). Working Group on Poverty Reduction and Employment: Diagnostic Report. Tbilisi, Georgia.
Tbilisi City Hall and UNDP Georgia (Co-author) (2007). Tbilisi Millennium Development Goals Report. Tbilisi, Georgia.
Research Notes
Gugushvili, A. (2011). Education and attitudes towards corruption: What has changed since 1990s in Georgia?
Gugushvili, A. (2009). Is the Ratio of Public Expenditure to GDP a Good Measure of 'Welfare Effort'? A Different View, Issue 34, pp. 40-43
Work in Progress
Gugushvili, A. Employment Relations and Emigration Intentions: Individualisation of Social?
Gugushvili, A. Political economy of emigration in the South Caucasus: Do political opinions explain emigration intentions?
Gugushvili, A., & Mananashvili, S. EUDO Citizenship Observatory. Country Report: Georgia
Gugushvili, A. Help or let them go: Welfare state and emigration in Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
Gugushvili, A. Socio-economic, Demographic and Transitional Determinants of Welfare Attitudes in the New Eastern Europe.
Gugushvili, A. Security (Welfare) in Europe, Welfare (Security) in the Caucasus.
[DOWNLOAD PREZI] (Adobe Flash Player required)
Biography
I was born and raised in Sukhumi, Abkhazia which is currently a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. Since then, I have lived in the town of Borjomi and later moved to the capital city of Georgia, Tbilisi. After several years of university attendance and work experience, I migrated initially to Edinburgh, UK and recently to Florence, Italy and Cambridge, Massachutsetts for my postgraduate studies and research. You can access my formal curriculum vitae here.
Links
The following are the links to my past and current alma maters:
These are the links for the programmes which allowed me to be a part of outstanding academic institutions:
These are the links for some of my previous jobs:
Following are my social networking pages: