Eidonomics

There has been a fair bit of work in economics looking at the effect of Christmas on western economies created by the unevenness in purchasing. (I went looking a good summary, and - why should I be surprized? - finally found one by Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution.) The Hajj has similar features. One difference of course is with the Hajj all pilgrims are flying to and from the same place at the same time. During the Christmas holidays many people travel, but they're all going to grandma's (for example) -- not literally all the same place.

There are several stories in today's papers related to the strain Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice in Islam, is putting on markets.

Spiralling prices of livestock likely to dampen Eid festivities
Sheep price hike hits middle class
Gas cylinder prices shoot up by almost 25%
Travellers scramble for air tickets
Residents forced to book eggs