Economics 2018 Jamb Examination

Occupational distribution refers to how workers are spread across different sectors of an economy.
The major influence on this distribution is the structure and performance of the economy itself, since economic conditions determine the types of jobs available and the level of demand for various skills.
Religious and social factors may influence cultural preferences, but they do not fundamentally determine occupational patterns.
Therefore, economic factors are the key determinant of occupational distribution.

Regional integration requires stable political environments to support free movement, trade, and policy coordination.
West Africa has experienced significant political instability, including coups, civil unrest, and weak governance systems, which disrupt regional cooperation.
Other factors such as international support or multinational activity have far less direct influence on ECOWAS’ implementation pace.
As a result, political instability remains the major barrier to achieving ECOWAS goals.

In economics, human wants or desires are referred to as ‘ends’ because they represent the ultimate goals that individuals seek to satisfy.
Means are the resources used to satisfy these wants, while scarcity relates to the limited availability of resources.
Alternative means refers to different ways of satisfying the same want.
Thus, human wants are best described as ends.

Climate and water availability attract or repel human settlement, as people prefer areas suitable for agriculture, habitation, and economic activity.
Population density measures the number of people per unit area, making it a useful tool for understanding how populated different regions are relative to land space.
Both statements correctly describe important factors in population studies.
Therefore, both 1 and 2 are correct.

Population density is computed using:\[ \text{Population Density} = \dfrac{\text{Total Population}}{\text{Land Area}} \]Substituting the values:\[ \dfrac{180{,}000{,}000}{923{,}768} \approx 195 \text{ people per sq km} \]This value indicates a moderate density typical of a large developing country.
Hence, 195 people per sq km is correct.

The size of the labour force is influenced by demographic structure, retirement policies, government labour regulations, and social conditions.
Trade unions operate mainly to protect workers’ rights, negotiate wages, and improve conditions; they do not significantly affect how many people are available to work.
Level of technology affects productivity, not the size of the labour force directly.
Therefore, level of technology is the option that does not affect labour force size.

Localisation occurs when similar firms cluster in one area. This encourages the growth of supporting industries such as repair centres, suppliers and service providers, which are known as subsidiary firms.
Creation of slums is a disadvantage linked to congestion, and parallel markets are not typical outcomes of localisation.
Attracting foreign capital may occur but it is not a primary or guaranteed advantage.
Thus, the development of subsidiary firms is a major advantage of localisation.

Utility increases when a good becomes more useful to a consumer.
Moving a product from a place where it is less needed to a place where it is more needed increases its usefulness through location change.
This type of utility is known as place utility, because value is added by transferring goods geographically.
It is not marginal utility (extra satisfaction from one more unit) or total utility (overall satisfaction).

The median is the middle value when data are arranged in order.
First, expand the distribution:
Values: 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5
Therefore, the median of the distribution is 3.