Publications

White Papers

Updates on economic developments in Yemen and other relevant publications.

Addressing the Crushing Weight of Yemen’s Public Debt

July 20, 2022 White Papers
For decades prior to the ongoing conflict, Yemen had been vulnerable to recurring budget deficits due to a lack of meaningful fiscal reform, high recurrent expenditures – mainly public sector salaries and fuel subsidies – and an overdependence on oil revenues. Within a year of becoming a unified republic in 1990, the country had already defaulted on its debt obligations to foreign…

The Road Transport Sector in Yemen: Critical Issues and Priority Policies

March 17, 2022 White Papers
Yemen is predominantly a rural country, with over 70% of the population living in 140,000 settlements in impoverished rural areas, and road transportation is essential for its development and overall economic growth. With only about 3,744km of paved rural roads, representing approximately 6.4% of all roads in the country, Yemen’s neglected road network poses significant development…

Improving Relations Between Central State Institutions and Local Authorities

September 30, 2021 White Papers
In July 2018, the Rethinking Yemen’s Economy initiative published a White paper that explored how the collapse of Yemen’s economy and the fragmentation of central government institutions during the war affected local councils. This new White Paper builds on those findings by examining how local governance has evolved in the intervening years, with a focus on the relationship between local…

Priorities for the Recovery and Reform of the Electricity Sector in Yemen

May 25, 2021 White Papers
Electricity is the backbone of any economy and one of the necessities of modern life. Poor electricity services in Yemen, even before the war, have been one of the key barriers to sustainable economic development and basic service provision (e.g., water supply, health care, education). This paper aims to lay out the top priorities for restoring electricity sector services and reforming the…

Yemen’s Accelerating Economic Woes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

October 12, 2020 White Papers
Since early 2015, when the onset of war led to the cessation of large-scale oil exports, Yemen has been almost completely dependent on three main external sources to secure foreign currency inflows and stimulate economic activity: foreign humanitarian aid, Saudi financial support to the Yemeni government, and – by far the most significant – remittances from Yemeni expatriates, most working…

Microfinance in Yemen: An Overview of Challenges and Opportunities

April 30, 2020 White Papers
In 1997 microfinance was introduced to Yemen. The government, supported by international donor states, viewed it as a strategic tool to alleviate poverty and reduce unemployment by expanding financial services to small and micro entrepreneurs to increase their share of the national economy. However, persistent challenges facing the microfinance industry have stunted its development, reach…

Yemen’s Expatriate Workforce Under Threat: The Essential Role of Remittances in…

May 30, 2019 White Papers
Scarce opportunities to earn a viable livelihood in Yemen have, for decades, driven hundreds of thousands of Yemenis abroad in search of work. Given chronically poor access to education in Yemen, the majority of these have been unskilled or semi-skilled laborers. The proximity of Saudi Arabia and the robustness of its oil-driven economy has made it a natural destination for most of Yemen’s…

Combating Corruption in Yemen

November 5, 2018 White Papers
This paper presents a detailed analysis of the nature, extent, and evolution of corruption in Yemen from the presidency of Ali Abdullah Saleh to the present day. It first traces the evolution of state capture and administrative corruption over the course of Saleh’s tenure and maps out the patronage system that emerged under his administration. It outlines the official reform efforts…

Private Sector Engagement in Post-Conflict Yemen

August 29, 2018 White Papers
Yemen has spent much of the past 60 years embroiled in armed conflict and political crisis, with this cyclical instability and insecurity among the primary factors that have stymied both private sector development and the establishment of a strong state with well-functioning public institutions. The vast majority of the Yemeni private sector is made up of small or very small businesses,…

Policy Briefs

Updates on economic developments in Yemen and other relevant Policy Briefs.

See all Policy Briefs publications