Projects

Rethinking Yemen’s Economy – A Track II Initiative

Project Duration

March 2017 – May 2025

The Rethinking Yemen’s Economy initiative aims to contribute to peacebuilding and conflict prevention, (economic) stabilization and sustainable development in Yemen by building consensus in crucial policy areas through engaging and promoting informed Yemeni voices (the ‘Development Champions’) from all backgrounds in the public discourse on development, economy and post-conflict reconstruction in Yemen and by positively influencing local, regional and international development agendas. The project is implemented by CARPO – Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient, DeepRoot Consulting and the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies. It is funded by the European Union.

Get more information on this project through our project website.

Team

Dr. Marie-Christine Heinze

Jan Hanrath

Mustafa Shakib Al-Khameri

Thomas Pietzsch

Partners:

Donor(s):

Publications:

23.09.2024

Enhancing the Role of Microfinance Banks for Sustainable Impact in Yemen

Yemen’s microfinance sector is undergoing a radical transformation. Despite initial success in empowering small businesses, the ongoing conflict has exposed deep vulnerabilities. Competition between the fractured central banks has driven a surge in …

18.04.2024

The Impact of Flooding on Agricultural Communities in Yemen

Yemen’s agricultural communities face a perfect storm of growing ecological threats amid protracted conflict. Flash floods destroy farms, crops, and irrigation systems. Late rains risk drowning mature harvests, and waterlogged fields hinder root …

06.02.2024

Empowering Local Authorities to Lead Economic Development in Yemen

This RYE Policy Brief, which is based on discussions the Development Champions Forum held in Cairo in December 2023, outlines a set of recommendations aimed at empowering local authorities in Yemen to effectively provide services and lead local …

18.12.2023

Challenges to Yemen’s Public Revenues

Since April 2022, the war in Yemen has mutated from a high-casualty conflict to a protracted stalemate with relatively stable frontlines. The current phase has been marked by the expansion of economic warfare, with the Houthi authorities shutting …

20.04.2023

Scaling Up Solar Energy Investments in Yemen

Poor electricity services remain a key barrier to sustainable economic development in Yemen, exacerbated by the ongoing conflict and related damages to the electricity sector’s infrastructure. Given Yemen’s high average hours of annual daily …

01.07.2022

Addressing the Crushing Weight of Yemen’s Public Debt

For decades prior to the ongoing conflict, Yemen had been vulnerable to recurring budget deficits. The escalation of the ongoing conflict in 2014/15 has had a profoundly negative impact on Yemen’s debt position. Large-scale oil exports ceased, …

01.03.2022

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

Yemen is predominantly a rural country, with over 70% of the population living in 140,000 settlements in impoverished rural areas. Road transport is thus essential for the country’s development and overall economic growth. With only about 3,744km of …

01.02.2022

Challenges and Prospects for Electronic Money and Payment Systems in Yemen

Yemen has a heavily cash-based economy with low levels of financial inclusion. The country’s formal banking sector is highly underdeveloped, undercapitalized and concentrated in urban areas, leaving it inaccessible for most Yemenis. Plans by the …

06.09.2021

Local Economic Councils: A Tool to Improve Business Productivity in Yemen

From 25-27 January 2021, the seventh Development Champions Forum, held virtually, focused on the dire business environment in Yemen. To help address local economic challenges, the Development Champions discussed the possibility of establishing Local …

01.09.2021

Improving Relations Between Central State Institutions and Local Authorities

Local councils are responsible for spearheading development projects and providing basic public services to Yemen’s population of more than 30 million people. The councils are particularly important in rural areas, where about 70 percent of Yemen’s …

01.05.2021

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

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 assesses the power supply system …

29.04.2021

Solar-Powered Irrigation in Yemen: Opportunities, Challenges and Policies

Yemen is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world. Its agricultural sector is the dominant user of groundwater resources, accounting for around 90 percent of total consumption. Due to the current crisis, fuel required for pumps has become …

11.01.2021

Impacts of the War on the Telecommunications Sector in Yemen

The telecommunications and information technology sector in Yemen is the second largest source of public revenue after the petroleum sector, and contributes important work opportunities, whether directly or indirectly, through its connections to …

01.10.2020

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

Since early 2015, Yemen has been almost completely dependent on three external sources to secure foreign currency inflows and stimulate economic activity: foreign humanitarian aid, Saudi financial support to the internationally recognized …

02.06.2020

Economic Priorities for a Sustainable Peace Agreement in Yemen

The sustainability of a peace agreement in Yemen will, amongst others, depend on two critical insights: First, in a conflict that is largely over access to resources, the issues of distribution and control of those resources can make or break peace. …

01.04.2020

Developing Yemen’s Fishing Industry

This policy brief summarizes discussions regarding Yemen’s fishing industry at a ‘Rethinking Yemen’s Economy’ workshop held in al-Mukalla, Yemen, on November 26-28, 2019. The workshop participants, among them numerous stakeholders in the fishing …

01.04.2020

Microfinance in Yemen. An Overview of Challenges and Opportunities

This White Paper explores the historic development of Yemen’s microfinance industry and its players, as well as the impacts of the ongoing conflict. This analysis is followed by recommendations that address four specific areas – capacity building, …

16.01.2020

Developing Human Capital

This Policy Brief summarizes discussions regarding Yemen’s human capital at a ‘Rethinking Yemen’s Economy’ workshop held in Amman, Jordan, on August 24-25, 2019. The workshop participants agreed that many of the obstacles to improving Yemen’s human …

02.10.2019

Restructuring Public Finances in Yemen

This Policy Brief addresses the issue of public finances in Yemen, which have long suffered from an overdependence on energy exports, one of the lowest tax collection rates in the world, and chronic budget and balance of payments deficits. With the …

23.09.2019

The Need to Reform the Public Sector Wage Bill

This Policy Brief addresses the issue of Yemen’s bloated public sector. Amid consistently large budget deficits, the inflated public sector wage bill is fiscally unsustainable and threatens to undermine economic recovery and future stability in …

09.09.2019

Reforming the Business and Investment Climate

This Policy Brief addresses the need for private sector recovery in Yemen and gives recommendations for the improvement of the overall business and investment climate. While the private sector has shown a far greater degree of resilience than the …

05.08.2019

Transitional Government in Post-Conflict Yemen

This Policy Brief offers recommendations to maximize the effectiveness of governance in post-conflict Yemen – whatever the composition or structure of the government. It presents three case studies on government models previously introduced in …

23.07.2019

The Repercussions of War on Women in the Yemeni Workforce

This Policy Brief sheds light on the impact of the ongoing conflict in Yemen on women’s participation in the workforce. It finds that the protracted conflict has, on the one hand, pushed more women into the workforce and new labor markets, in some …

01.05.2019

The Essential Role of Remittances in Mitigating Economic Collapse

This White Paper addresses the impact of Saudi Arabia’s increasingly restrictive handling of its expatriate workforce on the economy in Yemen. The kingdom’s policies, which have forced tens of thousands of Yemenis to return home, have resulted in a …

08.04.2019

Reconstruction and Recovery in Yemen

This Policy Brief brings forward the results of in-depth discussions held by the Development Champions with the aim of developing recommendations and guidelines to ensure the reconstruction and recovery of Yemen is a comprehensive, effective process …

18.03.2019

Economic Confidence-Building Measures – Civil Servant Salaries

This Policy Brief brings forward crucial recommendations resulting out of the fourth Development Champions Forum in Amman, held in December 2018. The Development Champions recommend that the Yemeni government resumes salary payments to all civil …

05.02.2019

Priorities for Government Policy in Yemen

This Policy Brief outlines recommendations for the immediate priorities of the Government of Yemen, both to achieve quick wins and to prepare the ground for medium and long-term success. These recommendations are the outcomes of in-depth discussions …