Abstract

This article highlights the cultural impact of street vending as a social safety net and an outlet for national production and cohesion. Most studies conducted on the street vending business in developing countries neglect the cultural motive, which is an important factor in household quality of life, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. In those studies, mention is often made of youth unemployment, economic problems, or the propensity of young traders not to fulfill their tax obligations, and hence their refusal to formalize their businesses. Although many of these studies have been conducted qualitatively through observation and interviews, others, admittedly less well known, have attempted to give a quantitative answer to the characteristics of poverty, violence, and informality often attributed to street vending. However, our study has chosen to make an immersion deep inside the Senegalese informal economy in order to give an opportunity for street vendors to recount their individual stories. As a result, we have discovered not only that most vendors’ presence on the street is culturally motivated but that they also contribute directly to the overall level of economic activity and provision of goods and services. They are an integral part of the economy, and their elimination would inevitably sever the cultural bond that existed in households and disrupt the solidarity and societal values the country prides itself on.