Standard of living

By standard of living we mean the degree or extent to which we satisfy our needs or wants. In the olden days, the basic needs were food, shelter and clothing. Today, all countries of West Africa have passed that level. Wants are now satisfied beyond these three basic needs. For example, our basic wants are now better satisfied. The foods we eat are now richer and in greater variety. Most families now eat bread and eggs and drink tea or coffee as breakfast. In the past, these would have been found in only very few houses in West Africa. The clothes we wear are more fanciful, more elaborate and elegant, and the houses we live in are far more superior and more comfortable than those enjoyed by our grandfathers. But in addition to all these, we now enjoy more luxury than our forefathers did. We now have wireless radio and coloured television sets, video and cassette recorders. We can cover a great deal of distance in a very short time by air. Also today, better education and medical facilities are now making it possible to live well and longer. We now also enjoy a faster means of communication or sending messages. We have the telephone, the Internet and the global system of mobile communication. All these, put together, determine the standard of living. So when we say that a country is poor, we are saying that the standard of living in that country, compared with the standard of living in some other countries, is low. Our knowledge about the standard of living in other countries is now better. Not only is it now comparatively easier to travel, but advancement in the publishing industry has made it possible and easier to read books about other countries.
The economics of West Africa is concerned with the nature and causes, that is the determinants of the standard of living in West African countries. Economics is concerned with explanation and discussion, with analysis and not with mere description. It answers questions beginning with "why" rather than "how". It does not answer in the form of "what should be done about it? Rather, it discusses the probable effects of doing this or doing that and thereby helps people to form their own opinion.

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Natural soil

Natural soils are influenced by rainfall and temperature,heavy rain causes the soil to become leached. High temperatures increase the rate of decomposition of organic matter in the soil, thereby lowering its humus content. Thus, climatic conditions tend to produce poor soils in the tropics and rich soils in the temperate regions. Besides climate and vegetation, the parent rock material also contributes to the quality of the soil. For example volcanic rocks tend to produce fertile soils. Laterite, a red soil which is a product of leaching, is commonly found in the tropics. It is composed mainly of iron and aluminium compounds,and poor in humus and essential plant nutrients, such as phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. The black and brown soil of the temperate grasslands are the world's richest soils, with a high mineral and humus content. The light coloured desert soils tend to be very rich in minerals but have a low humus content. Mainly the soils ar...

Rock Formation

A rock may be defined as a hard compact mass made up of cluster of primary or secondary minerals. The primary minerals are those that are as they were made in nature. Some of them are Quartz, Olivine, Pyroxene, Hornblende, Biotite, Muscovite and feldspar. On the other hand, secondary minerals consists of particles worn out from original minerals which have combined with other elements. They exist in form of: (i) Oxide such as those of magnesium, Iron and Aluminum. (ii) Sulphates and carbonates of Iron, Magnesium and Calcium. (iii) Clay minerals such as the silicate clays and the hydrous Oxide. TYPES OF ROCKS (i) Igneous rock (ii) sedimentary rock (iii) Metamorphic rock. Based on their chemical composition, we have basic and acidic rocks. Granite is a very good example of an acid rock. PROCESSES OF ROCK FORMATION IGNEOUS ROCK :This is formed through the process of cooling and hardening of the molten magma. This molten magna is confined deep down below the earth crust und...

Tin ore

Tin ore and columbite are two minerals that co-occur in the form of heavy black grains like gunpowder, mixed with sand and gravel. They are deposited in alluvial beds of old river valleys and subsequently buried under layers of soil overburden. The ore is mined by the open cast method. To do this, a powerful machine called a dragline is used to first remove the overburden, and then to scoop out the tin ore which it piles in heaps called a monitor is used to direct a powerful jet of water to this tin wash, which washes it down through a series of sluice boxes. Here, the black, heavy tin grains together with other minerals like columbite, now called tin concentrates, sink to the bottom of the boxes, while the water carries the dirt and sand away. At this stage, the columbite grains are separated from the pure tin concentrates. The concentrates are then sent to factories to be smelted refined and moulded in bars called tin ingots. It is in the form of either ...

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