Model: Impact of falling remittances amid COVID-19 on Yemen’s war-torn economy

The day-to-day hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic are often compared to life during wartime. But Yemenis have it far worse: They are experiencing a pandemic and a war simultaneously. Before 2020, Yemen’s ongoing civil war had cut GDP almost by half; since then COVID-19 has further decimated the economy. Dalia Elsabbagh, Sikandra Kurdi, and Manfred Wiebelt find that a major cause is a plunge in remittances from abroad, which has hurt both incomes and employment across the country.—Johan Swinnen, series co-editor and IFPRI Director General.