The recent economic development of the Yemen Arab Republic is in stark contrast to the centuries of isolation that had marked the country prior to the 1962 Revolution. When economic planning was instituted in the 1970s, the nation was confronted by the needs of reconstruction after years of conflict, and of development. A formidable task was faced in the need to establish basic infrastructure throughout a country with a widely dispersed population and with extremely rugged terrain. In addition, the economy has been characterized by the high percentage of the workforce attracted overseas as migrant workers. This book provides the first comprehensive study of the economic development of this under-studied nation.