This begins a series of blogs looking at comparative economic wellbeing in the Caucasus. My primary questions are: who is doing well? Is wealth changing over time? and What are the differences/similarities between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. (This is Caucasus Barometer 2007-2010). The first topic is utilities. Some scholars argue that access to utilities is…
As I’ve discussed before, the sex ratio imbalance in the Caucasus is of great concern. In this region that already faces instability, the 2 consequences of sex imbalance (first general population decline, second more boys than girls) could have dire consequences. In other sex-imbalanced countries, the labor market decreases which slows economic growth. Men can’t…
I’ve been working on a project recently looking at lack of awareness of the Internet. In the U.S. we take for granted that most people know what the Internet is and have a general sense of what it can do, even if they don’t use it themselves. However, even in the U.S., there were (and…
While CRRC is known for its Caucasus Barometer, in Winter 2011, a Central Asian survey was conducted to look at access to justice in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. (Here are the data files and methodological notes.) These analyses are only on the issues related to women in Central Asia. There is a lot more in…
With recent reports about sex ratio imbalance in Armenia, a quick analysis of the Caucasus Barometer brings insight into the state of women in Armenia. Armenians certainly prefer boys, especially in rural areas. But even in regional cities and Yerevan, nearly half of Armenians state a preference for a boy. Moreover, Armenians (and Azerbaijanis and…
Is there a “migration crisis” in the Caucasus? Maybe! There seems to be an increase in interest in migration in Armenia and in Azerbaijan and Georgia, while interest is high, it remains relatively stable. Based on the Caucasus Barometer, 40% of Georgians, half of Azerbaijanis, and 59% of Armenians are interested in temporary migration (This…
My primary research interest is technology adoption and use, especially looking at digital divides (ownership and use patterns based on socioeconomic differences). I’ve been studying these divides and patterns in Armenia for a long time. 2010 was a very exciting year for me (and Armenia!) because after many years of low adoption rates for personal…
How do Armenians, Azerbaijanis, and Georgians feel about the direction in which their countries are headed? The 2010 Caucasus Barometer tells us that opinions on this are mixed. Few people in any of the three countries think that their country is definitely headed in the right direction (3% Armenia, 11% Azerbaijan, 11% Georgia), although some…
This is a study that I did with the 2008 (collected in fall) Caucasus Barometer. As a warning, it is pretty stats-heavy. If you’re going to cite this paper, please use this citation: Pearce, K.E. (2010). Political trust in the post-coup attempt Republic of Armenia. Demokratizatsiya, 19, 58-83. Abstract: This paper presents a model of…
This analysis was conducted on the 2007 Caucasus Barometer on questions dealing with approval of being friends with, doing business with, and marrying other nationalities/ethnic groups. (I apologize that this is more “statistics-y” than other posts. I did this analysis for a statistics class assignment a few years ago but thought that people might be…