Covering 136 families in the three cities of Dakar, Saint Louis and Thies in 1954-1955, this study stems from the willingness to promote household budget surveys in the so far neglected French West Africa. Among the three studies, a thorough report is available for the city of Thies for 43 Muslim families. Information include family structure, total income and expenditure but also food consumption (in terms of both expenditure and quantity), energy use, household maintenance and social and religious dues.

The HHB team is still looking for the detailed records of the other 93 families. Given that the country gained independence in 1960, this source represents a precious piece of information about standards of living near the end of the colonial era.

The survey was directed by Yvon Mersadier, a French economist from the Institut de recherche pour le developpement (IRD), and published in the Senegalese Institut Francais d’Afrique Noire (IFAN) bulletin where he was seconded in the 50s. He is considered a pioneer in household survey researches in the region.