Measuring government spending behavior in the Republic of YemenAnd its impact on the higher education sector

Abstract

The theoretical and empirical studies on the determinants of government spending in developing countries are still in need of further refinement and development compared to developed countries. This is due to the lack of accurate data on government spending and doubts about the credibility of available data, in addition to the political and economic instability in these countries.

In Yemen, total government spending witnessed a remarkable expansion during the period 1990-1998 due to factors such as the costs of Yemeni unification, the expansion of government agencies, and the Gulf crisis and the return of expatriates. These factors also led to imbalances in fiscal policies, with an increase in current expenditures at the expense of capital and developmental spending.

In this context, it is evident that government spending on higher education was extremely limited, constituting only 3.2% of total public expenditure in 1998. The average current expenditure on education per capita in 1997 and 1998 was around $5. This indicates a lack of interest in developing higher education and linking it to the country's development needs in Yemen.