A common conundrum discussed in economic research revolves around the fact that nations endowed with plentiful natural resources often exhibit a lower gross domestic product (GDP). This conundrum is commonly called the "resource curse", where most empirical studies about the effects primarily focused on developed economies. At the same time, limited data is available regarding a burgeoning oil-exporting nation like the Republic of Yemen. This research endeavor aims to investigate the relationship between oil price Changes and Yemen's economic growth. Utilizing annual data spanning from 1990 to 2019, the study employs the auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) model to establish the long-term connection between oil price volatility and economic growth over both short and long timeframes. This study's outcomes indicate that oil price Changes have a significant positive relationship with Yemen's economic growth in both the long and short run. Oil rents show a significant negative relationship with economic growth in both the long and short run. The results of GLM, RLS, and GMM robustness checks are consistent with our model results. Based on these findings, we suggest that Yemen should diversify its economy by investing in agriculture and tourism, and focus on human capital, education, and research and development. These steps could reduce the economy's dependence on oil and enhance sustainable economic growth. These empirical insights and suggestions are particularly useful for policymakers as they help build sound external and economic policies to sustain long-term economic growth. At the same time, limited data is available regarding a burgeoning oil-exporting nation like the Republic of Yemen. This research endeavor aims to investigate the relationship between oil price Changes and Yemen’s economic growth. Utilizing annual data spanning from 1990 to 2019, the study employs the auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) model to establish the long-term connection between oil price volatility and economic growth over both short and long timeframes. This study’s outcomes indicate that oil price Changes have a significant positive relationship with Yemen’s economic growth in both the long and short run. Also, these outcomes are consistent with some studies, such as [ 71 , 72 ]. The connection between the inflation rate and economic growth is notably adverse. Consequently, a 1% rise in the inflation rate results in a long-term economic growth decline of 0.2085% at a 1% significance level. Research findings in this area consistently indicate that this negative association is more pronounced in countries struggling to uphold price stability during periods of high inflation [ 72 – 74 ]. Finally, we found that the unemployment rate has an insignificant positive relationship with economic growth. The findings from GLM, RLS, and GMM methods consistently indicate a significant positive correlation between each of the oil prices and economic growth, while also revealing a significant negative relationship between oil rents and economic growth. It’s noteworthy that the remaining variables yield results that are in harmony with all the models, reinforcing the notion that the results correspond to our chosen ARDL model, whether in the long or short term. This contributes to the robustness and reliability of the findings. Table 9 Results for RLS, GLM, and GMM models. Interestingly, the relationship between short-term unemployment and economic growth is marginally significant. An increase in unemployment during this period might slightly bolster economic growth, indicating complex dynamics at play. Turning to the long-term perspective, the connection between economic growth and oil price Changes reveals a substantial and positive correlation. Sustained increases in oil prices over the long term are linked to significant economic growth in Yemen. This underscores the potential benefits of stable oil prices for long-term economic development. Given the significant positive relationship between short-term Changes in oil prices and economic growth, policymakers should consider strategies that harness the potential benefits of oil price volatility. Implementing mechanisms to leverage periods of elevated oil prices could allow the country to channel increased revenue towards targeted development projects, stimulating economic growth during these phases. The long-term perspective underscores the importance of stable oil prices for Yemen’s sustained economic growth. Building on the significant positive relationship identified between long-term oil price stability and economic growth, policymakers should advocate for long-term contracts and agreements that provide stability in oil pricing. This could involve collaborations with international partners to ensure a predictable revenue stream, offering a foundation for consistent economic development efforts. The relationship between oil prices and GDP in Yemen contrasts with the patterns observed in more established oil-producing countries. If the authors want to present a causal relationship, they need to make some argument that what they are studying is causal and probably use some form of statistical identification to do so. 2. It is unclear what the paper’s contribution is relative to the literature. As the authors say on page 7, “…Victor & Ogbonna We acknowledge that our use of certain terminology may have unintentionally suggested that our study was focused on establishing a causal effect relationship between the variables under investigation. Our primary objective was to examine the long-term relationships between oil price changes and economic growth using the ARDL model, which is designed for this purpose. The robustness checks conducted using GMM, GLM, and RLS also support the presence of long-term relationships between the variables. We did not intend to imply a causal effect relationship, and we apologize for any confusion this may have caused.