ABSTRACT
Introduction On first glance it appears that the business environment in Georgia has changed at a high pace throughout the last decade. Once considered as a hotbed for corruption and red tape, the post-Soviet republic witnessed a period of liberal economic reforms and a fight against corruption under President Mikheil Saakashvili (2004-13). This is reflected in international indices: Georgia moved to the top ten in the Ease of Doing Business Index, which is conducted annually by the World Bank (World Bank, 2014). Additionally, according to the 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International the perceived level of corruption in the public sector became lower in Georgia than in any other Black Sea republic (Transparency International, 2014). Saakashvili, who came to power following the so called Rose Revolution, aimed to portray Georgia as a poster child of successful economic and administrative reform to attract foreign investors (European Stability Initiative, 2010; Schueth, 2010). At the same time observers repeatedly voiced concerns regarding elite corruption, infringements on property rights and political pressure on companies (Fairbanks & Gugushvili, 2013; Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2014).
