Education and Development Towards Building Knowledge Economy: The Aspect of Yemen

Developing and maintaining knowledge economy is a significant step in ensuring sustainable development in emerging nations. Countries with ample resources dedicate a significant portion of their resources to improving knowledge, education and development in society. According to the World Bank, investing in people is a key factor in facilitating development opportunities for future generations. However, in lower income economies, dedicating resources to education and development is affected mainly by the lack of resources, yet efforts are made to ensure education and development is maintained for future development goals. This study employs descriptive analytical approach to explore how education and development contribute to economic growth in Yemen as a lower income economy. The study hypothesized that expenditure on education, number of graduates, unemployment rate, human development and digitalization contribute to economic growth in the Yemeni context. The data was obtained from the World Bank, United Nations and central statistical organization databases, and were analyzed using SPSS and Eviews. The findings indicate the variables of higher education and development are not associated with economic growth in Yemen. Further, internet use and unemployment rate were associated with economic growth. This outcome can be attributed to the economic and political instability in Yemen which resulted in significant deterioration and depleting resources which hampers the opportunity of improving higher education outcome in the country.