Festival economies represent important yet understudied sites of informal employment in developing countries. This paper examines the nature and extent of livelihood precarity among workers engaged in festival-based economic activities, using the case of Ganesh Utsav in Mumbai. Drawing on primary survey data from 132 respondents across occupational categories such as vendors, artisans, wage workers, and service providers, the study analyses patterns of income instability, financial vulnerability, and coping behaviour. The paper develops a composite Livelihood Challenge Index (LCI) to capture the multidimensional nature of precarity, incorporating indicators of income insufficiency, employment instability, financial stress, and lack of social protection. The findings reveal that a majority of workers experience moderate to high levels of livelihood precarity, reflecting the episodic and discontinuous nature of festival-based employment. Income gaps between festival and non-festival periods emerge as a key driver of vulnerability, with statistically significant associations observed between income instability and livelihood challenges. Borrowing behaviour further reflects attempts at consumption smoothing, while also indicating constraints in access to stable financial resources. The analysis highlights significant occupational differences, with wage workers, artisans, and small-scale entrepreneurs facing disproportionately higher levels of precarity. Overall, the findings suggest that festival economies function as episodic labour markets that generate short-term employment opportunities while reinforcing structural conditions of economic insecurity. The paper contributes to the literature on informal labour markets by providing a micro-level, multidimensional assessment of livelihood precarity and by introducing a composite index for its measurement. From a policy perspective, the study underscores the need to move beyond employment generation towards enhancing income stability, financial inclusion, and social protection for informal workers engaged in seasonal and event-driven economic activities.
Informal labour, livelihood precarity, festival economy, income instability, seasonal employment, India.
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