Small businesses in world heritage sites provide services to visitors and livelihood for residents. Besides the cultural and religious values promoted by these businesses, they also provide socioeconomic support to their owners. The Pashupatinath temple is known as Hindu’s major religious and pilgrimage destination in South Asia. Hundreds of businesses around the temple provide services to visitors. This study evaluates the socioeconomic impacts of these small businesses around Pashupatinath temple. Using a survey of 110 businesses, binary logistic regression models find that the owners of larger businesses selling religious supplies in this area are more likely to own houses in Kathmandu and to be more satisfied with their businesses. The study also finds that businesses without permanent stalls faced severe hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study assessed the socioeconomic status of a business owner through house ownership in Kathmandu, and finds that small businesses operating in the premises of the religious heritage site of Pashupatinath temple have a positive relation to the livelihood of the business owners and their families. It concludes that small-scale business in world heritage sites directly contributes to local livelihoods and economies.

Remittances from abroad play an important role in shaping the economic landscape of developing countries such as Nepal, contributing significantly to poverty reduction, household income, and economic resilience. They are an important source of foreign exchange and financial support, often surpassing foreign aid and investment. Despite their growing volume, the use of remittances in productive areas such as financial assets, consumption, and investment remains under-researched. This study addresses the research question: To what extent do remittances influence financial asset accumulation, consumption, and investment in the Nepali context? We employed a quasi-experimental research design using secondary data from the World Bank’s household survey, applying the propensity score matching method. Remittances had a positive and significant impact on financial asset accumulation, food and non-food consumption, and durable goods inventory. However, no significant effect on education and health expenditures or business investment was observed, indicating challenges to long-term sustainability in the health and education sectors. Our findings suggest that while remittances are vital for immediate consumption and asset acquisition, their contribution to long-term development remains limited. Policymakers should therefore design strategies to redirect remittance flows toward more productive sectors.