Yemen

This note disseminates key lessons learned from the World Bank financed project in the Republic of Yemen, monitoring and evaluation of the poverty reduction strategy... Show More + paper and reform programs, which established and operationalized a poverty reduction strategy monitoring unit. The approaches used, such as a study tour to Uganda, focused international training sessions, and the successful work on improving and minimizing the number of indicators, provide some lessons learned for other countries seeking to build monitoring and evaluation (M&E) capacity. Policy makers learned from Uganda’s good practices of connecting accountability with resource allocation and of the importance of a strong and independent statistics office. The Republic of Yemen’s experience also illustrates the value of having a powerful M&E champion to support such a significant initiative. Finally, the inclusion of civil society organizations in the planning process and in M&E outputs, especially on the central level and on policy matters, increased popular support and was an important factor in building M&E capacity. Show Less -

This tenth edition of Doing Business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when complying... Show More + with relevant regulations. It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting eleven areas in the life cycle of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency and employing workers. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 185 economies, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, over time. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why. This economy profile presents the Doing Business indicators for the Republic of Yemen. To allow useful comparison, it also provides data for other selected economies (comparator economies) for each indicator. The data in this report are current as of June 1, 2012 (except for the paying taxes indicators, which cover the period January - December 2011). Show Less -

This Joint Social and Economic Assessment (JSEA) has been prepared in response to a request from the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MoPIC), and... Show More + was undertaken jointly by the World Bank, the United Nations, the European Union, and the Islamic Development Bank. The JSEA's main purpose is to assess the social and economic impact of the crisis in Yemen, and to identify challenges and key priorities for early interventions, primarily for the transition period, which is expected to stretch into the first half of 2014. Putting Yemen on a path of recovery to prosperity will not only require a strong commitment and ownership from the Government and People of Yemen, but also coordinated support and significant financial resources from all partners and friends of Yemen. While the JSEA provides analysis of Yemen's most pressing needs, it is the Government's Transition Plan that will offer the roadmap by which Yemen can emerge from crisis stronger and better able to ensure equitable and sustainable development for its people. The implementation of the Transition Plan and donor support should balance humanitarian assistance, early recovery, reconciliation, and peace-building efforts in the short run, with support to decisive policy actions and reforms that will underpin sustainable and inclusive development, improved governance, and social protection in the medium to long term. Show Less -

This study examines the major constraints of rural business entry and performance in Yemen. The Yemen rural investment climate survey made it possible to analyze rural... Show More + investment climate constraints for rural businesses. The survey was used to investigate both farm and nonfarm rural enterprises. The rural investment climate was assessed using a combination of subjective impressions related by rural entrepreneurs, and a more objective, empirical set of analyses that employed indicators to rank the constraints to "doing business" in the areas surveyed. These empirical analyses included application of the entry model, the performance model, the closure model, and the migration model. The migration model was introduced to identify how the rural investment climate variables at the community level increase migration and economic activities. Based on the assessment of the rural investment climate, this paper identifies and explains four critical areas in which the rural investment climate in Yemen can be improved: market demand, access to markets, access to finance, and the provision of business services. Because farm and nonfarm businesses often experience common or similar constraints, the climate in which they operate can often be improved with the same measures and policies. Addressing the constraints that affect rural women entrepreneurs in particular, who play a vital role in rural nonfarm enterprises, warrants clear priority as a means to generate income and employment. Security and labor issues are identified as the key such constraints that disproportionately affect women. Show Less -

Executive Directors approved a grant to the Republic of Yemen for the Labor Intensive Public Works Project in the amount of SDR 39.3 million (US$61 million equivalent)... Show More + on the payment terms and conditions set out in the President's Memorandum. Directors expressed support for the project's objectives, which would provide the needed infrastructure to improve access to basic public services and would create short-term employment. Directors noted the focus on poverty alleviation through labor intensive works by small local contractors employing labor from within the beneficiary communities. The importance of gender inclusion and donor coordination was also emphasized. Directors appreciate staff working in a challenging operating environment and in that context, stressed the need for close supervision. Show Less -

Doing business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when complying with relevant regulations.... Show More + It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting 10 areas in the life cycle of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. In a series of annual reports doing business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 183 economies, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, over time. This economy profile presents the doing business indicators for Yemen, Republic of. To allow useful comparison, it also provides data for other selected economies (comparator economies) for each indicator. The data in this report are current as of June 1, 2011 (except for the paying taxes indicators, which cover the period January-December 2010). Show Less -

This note sketches a possible strategy for Yemen to deepen integration with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It advocates that Yemen put priority on such integration... Show More + as a complement to its ongoing effort to accede to the WTO, and pause temporarily the implementation of the free trade agreement with Arab League signatories of the Greater Arab free Trade Agreement. As there is no standard set of GCC accession requirements, closer integration with the GCC will require development of specific action plans for the various policy areas covered by the GCC that identify specific measures to be undertaken by Yemen and GCC partners to realize the potential benefits of cooperation. Show Less -

The enterprise surveys focus on the many factors that shape the business environment. These factors can be accommodating or constraining for firms and play an important... Show More + role in whether a country will prosper or not. An accommodating business environment is one that encourages firms to operate efficiently. The enterprise surveys are conducted by the World Bank and its partners across all geographic regions and cover small, medium, and large companies. The surveys are administered to a representative sample of firms in the non-agricultural formal private economy. The enterprise surveys collect a wide array of qualitative and quantitative information through face to face interviews with firm managers and owners regarding the business environment in their countries and the productivity of their firms. The enterprise survey is useful for both policymakers and researchers. The surveys are repeated over time to track changes and benchmark the effects of reforms on firm's performance. Show Less -

Yemen should be credited for achieving an ambitious road building program over the last 25 years, and establishing a large primary road network given its level of Gross... Show More + Domestic Product (GDP) and population size. With the condition of 60 percent of the paved network rated good or very good, Yemen's road network appears better than in most comparator countries. This positive feature allows the country to satisfy economically its relatively high demand for road transport evidenced by its substantial vehicle fleet and traffic volumes on the arterial network. Yet, the country's inhabitable deserts, mountainous terrain, and population location patterns still give rise to high transport costs and leave many small communities isolated on mountain ridges or in remote valleys. The poor access to markets, employment, and services in many areas pose a serious challenge to economic and social development. The full road sector strategy note takes stock of recent developments in the sector and focuses on performance. It takes into account studies prepared for the Government and the rich dialogue between Government officials and Bank missions over the past few years. Based on this, key issues are identified and recommendations are made on a sector wide, short to medium term, agenda for reform which, if implemented, will further strengthen the performance of the road sector, thereby increasing its contribution to the national economy and the alleviation of poverty. Show Less -

The informal sector is generally believed to be more vulnerable to various risks due to limited access to social insurance, but little empirical evidence exists to support... Show More + this statement. This paper examines the relationship between informality and protection from health risks in Yemen. The formal sector, when defined based on pension coverage, largely overlaps with public employment where the better educated, more experienced, and better informed tend to work. The results indicate that, even after accounting for socio-economic status, water supply and quality conditions, risky behavior patterns, and unobserved heterogeneity, formal sector households have better accessibility and affordability to health service. This may in part explain better health outcomes among formal households, although large heterogeneity across regions (urban/rural) exists. However, the role of the existing health insurance is found to be unclear. The findings reconfirm the importance of policies that promote universal access to health service and a risk pooling avenue delinked from employment types as well as healthy living conditions and lifestyles. Show Less -