Resource information
From what was historically known as
'Arabia Felix', a land of prosperity and
happiness, Yemen has become the most impoverished among the
Arab countries. The government of the united Yemen, formed
in 1990, has launched so far three five-year economic reform
plans with the goal of restoring Yemen's prosperity.
Have these efforts succeeded? What policies are needed to
further reduce poverty? The poverty assessment report aims
to answer these questions. This report measures poverty in
Yemen in 2005-06, and evaluates the change in poverty
compared to 1998, the two years for which comparable
household budget surveys are available. The period between
the two survey years (1998 and 2005-06), more or less
overlaps the first two five-year economic plans and captures
the effect of the economic reform programs launched since
1995. In addition to measuring poverty, this report has
three objectives: evaluating the role of growth and past
reforms on poverty, identifying better ways to target the
vulnerable poor through public action, and an assessment of
the poverty monitoring system. By examining the effect of
the key policies on poverty, such as the petroleum price
reform and the government's social protection
mechanisms between 1998 and 2005-06, the study aims to equip
policy makers and development partners with the knowledge
needed to improve the effectiveness of their efforts to
reduce poverty in Yemen.
