Chapter
4:
Context
and
contextual
changes
(Murray,
2013).
Therefore,
previously
marginalized
groups
such
as
women
and
youth,
including
those
who
helped
bring
about
change,
are
not
included
in
a
proper
manner
(for
example,
being
given
sufficient
seats
or
informed
in
a
timely
manner)
to
participate
in
decision-‐making
under
the
post-‐Saleh
government
(Murray,
2013).
In
addition,
the
extent
to
which
the
resulting
recommen dations
will
be
implemented
is
still
uncertain,
as
there
may
be
little
space
left
for
new
players
when
established
political
parties
look
set
to
dominate
the
next
parliament
and
fill
the
power
vacuum
(Hill
et
al.,
2013).
4.2
Socio-‐economic
dimension
4.2.1
Yemeni
economy
Being
the
poorest
country
of
the
Middle
East,
Yemen
is
dependent
on
small
oil
reserves,
agricultural
and
fishery
exports,
and
development
aid
to
sustain
its
economy.
The
Yemeni
economy
suffered
from
its
support
for
Iraq
during
the
first
Gulf
War
(1990-‐1991).
Saudi
Arabia
expelled
1
million
Yemeni
workers,
and
together
with
Kuwait
it
reduced
its
economic
aid.
The
decline
in
remittances
from
Yemeni
expat
workers
had
an
enormous
impact
on
its
economy.
Since
mid-‐1990s,
Yemen
has
been
relying
on
multilateral
development
aid
to
sustain
its
economy
(WFP,
2009).
Due
to
its
dependency
on
this
aid,
the
government
of
Yemen
is
introducing
economic
reforms
aimed
at
reducing
this
dependency,
as
well
as
a
result
of
aid
regulations.
Yemen
also
needs
to
change
its
economy
because
of
its
current
dependency
on
the
oil
market,
which
leaves
the
national
budget
vulnerable
to
the
volatility
of
the
international
oil
prices,
while
knowing
at
the
same
time
that
under
the
current
rate
of
production
the
oil
reserves
will
not
last
beyond
2020
(EC,
2006;
WFP,
2009).
As
shown
in
Figure
4.1,
Yemen’s
GDP
growth
rate
remained
on
average
3
to
4
percent
between
2004
and
2010,
with
a
sudden
drop
of
15
percent
in
2011.
It
was
slowly
recovering
again
in
2012
at
2
percent.
GNP
per
capita
at
purchasing
power
parity
had
been
increasing
steadily
until
2011
and
recovered
slightly
in
2012
(see
Figure
4.2).
The
coincidence
of
the
dips
in
GDP
growth
rate
and
GNP
per
capita
during
the
revolution
in
2011
shows
its
effect
on
the
Yemeni
economy.
Both
state
resources
and
human
resources/work
force
have
been
diverted
from
economic
development
to
the
political
developments
at
the
time,
and
economic
activities
in
key
sectors
were
likely
disrupted.
Figure
4.1:
Annual
GDP
growth
rate
in
Yemen
Source:
World
Bank
The Political Economy in Yemen of Water Management: Conflict Analysis and Recommendations
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