Blessings on a Cart: Ramadan and Street Vendors in Dhaka

Abstract

Ramadan not only has a religious value to the community but also adds value to the economy through both formal, structured as well as informal unstructured employment. As during Ramadan, food consumption patterns change as well as people's tendency to buy religious items also heightens, it is an important month for the street vendors and impacts their socio-economic position for the year. This paper deals with gaining insight on social orientation, business modality, perception on the effect of festivals and the real effect of Ramadan and pandemic on the revenue and cost. The evidence suggests that despite the presence of other religious and non-religious festivals, Ramadan remains the most critical time for street vendors to generate additional revenue. However, the effect is greater for carts selling processed foods and religious items. The selling of religious items usually face a steep downhill during non-Ramadan times which makes it unsustainable throughout the year. However, although the pandemic hit the regular review of the street vendor, during Ramadan times they didn’t have to lower the prices of items being sold due to the persistent demand.