Deck 9: Global Inequality

Question 1

What was the original cause of underdevelopment in the low-income countries according to dependency theory?

A) fatalism
B) colonialism
C) their peripheral geographical locations
D) their lack of a Protestant ethic

Answer 1

B

Question 2

With which of the following statements would a market-oriented theorist agree?

A) International capitalism has facilitated poverty in low-income countries.
B) The most effective way for low-income countries to develop economically is to mimic the successful capitalist practices of the United States.
C) The key to economic success in low-income countries is for the government to harness the cultural beliefs of the people into a productive unit.
D) The economic plight of poor countries could be alleviated with more government intervention.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which type of theorist would argue that a low-income society can develop if people give up their traditional ways and adopt new economic institutions, technologies, and values?

A) world-systems
B) dependent development
C) neoliberalism
D) modernization

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which type of countries contained 9 percent of the world's population but produced only five-tenths of a percent of the world's GDP in 2016?

A) low-income
B) middle-income
C) high-income
D) socialist

Question 5

Elvira is an economic adviser who supports cultural policies that attempt to change people's behavior to encourage development. She would most likely agree with which theory of global inequality?

A) modernization
B) dependency
C) world-systems
D) global commodity chains

Question 6

Which of the following best describes the health conditions in high- and low-income countries?

A) Although the services available in high-income countries are more accessible, the life expectancy is similar in both groups.
B) Infant mortality is more than 10 times higher in low-income countries.
C) The AIDS epidemic has ravaged both groups of countries equally and placed a serious strain on their resources.
D) Conditions have worsened in high- and low-income countries as more government resources are spent on the military.

Question 7

W. W. Rostow's modernization theory suggests economic growth as a series of stages, beginning with traditional and culminating with high mass consumption. What underlying characteristic is an important factor in shaping each of these different stages?

A) technology
B) standard of living
C) work ethic
D) values

Question 8

In 2016, there were 1,810 billionaires worldwide. Their combined assets were estimated to be what value?

A) $4.6 billion
B) $94.6 billion
C) $6.5 trillion
D) $341 trillion

Question 9

The countries of the former Soviet Union began to industrialize in the late twentieth century and are now highly industrialized. Since the collapse of communism, their standard of living:

A) has increased dramatically
B) has increased somewhat
C) has decreased
D) is now equal to that of the United States

Question 10

Where are most of the lowest-income countries found today?

A) Central Africa
B) Central America
C) South Asia
D) South America

Question 11

Neoliberalism holds that only through unfettered global free trade will the world economy prosper and allow all countries to grow. What theory does neoliberalism originate from?

A) dependency
B) functionalism
C) modernization
D) Marxism

Question 12

Haiti is considered a low-income country. Haiti's main economic activity is in:

A) technology
B) mining
C) agriculture
D) manufacturing

Question 13

In 2016, high-income countries had 16 percent of the world's population. How much of the world's total income did these same countries have?

A) 16 percent
B) 32 percent
C) 64 percent
D) 95 percent

Question 14

Dependency theories rely on theories developed by:

A) Max Weber
B) Émile Durkheim
C) Immanuel Wallerstein
D) Karl Marx

Question 15

There are four different theories that are used to understand global inequality today. Each has its limitations and shortcomings. Common to all four of these theoretical approaches, however, is that they:

A) underemphasize the role of women in the world economy
B) overemphasize the role of women in the world economy
C) minimize the disruptive influence of women in the world economy
D) do not address the role of women as caregivers in the world economy

Question 16

Neoliberalism argues that global free trade will enable all countries to prosper. From this perspective, what is needed in order for this to happen?

A) There must be an effort to enable third world governments to regulate wage and labor laws.
B) Countries must eliminate all governmental regulation and disavow minimum wage and other labor laws.
C) Wealthy nations must provide loan money with interest to the newly industrializing economies (NIEs) so they have capital to invest in their economies.
D) Countries must be persuaded to ignore political and military power.

Question 17

The highest rates of population growth occur in which type of countries?

A) low-income
B) lower-middle-income
C) upper-middle-income
D) high-income

Question 18

According to the World Bank, a country with a per-person GNI of $2,000 is considered to be in the ________ category.

A) low-income
B) middle-income
C) high-income
D) lower-middle-income

Question 19

Dependency theorists argue that low-income countries are locked in a downward spiral of poverty. This is due, they argue, to what process?

A) lack of regulation
B) lack sufficient experience with multinational corporations
C) exploitation by wealthy countries
D) absence of values and beliefs that contribute to economic growth

Question 20

The degree of global inequality is:

A) growing
B) decreasing
C) staying the same
D) varying from year to year with no distinct trend

Question 21

Barbara believes that rich countries exploit poor countries. With which theory would she most likely agree?

A) market-oriented
B) modernization
C) dependency
D) functionalist

Question 22

World-systems theory argues that the world system changes very slowly and that through a long series of changes, the United States is now at the top of the chain. Since this too must change, what are world-systems theorists suggesting as the next stage?

A) the collapse of the world economy
B) the expansion of capitalism into the world's poorest regions
C) the rise of China as the world's economic superpower
D) a sharing of economic power among many different nations

Question 23

In sub-Saharan Africa, what is true of children under 5 years of age?

A) They will likely enter secondary school.
B) They are at risk of autism from vaccines.
C) They are likely to live in extreme poverty.
D) They are more likely to die than to enter secondary school.

Question 24

According to world-systems theory, besides the core countries, which other countries also play an exploitative role in the world system?

A) peripheral
B) low income
C) semiperipheral
D) impoverished

Question 25

Approximately how many of the 212 million Apple iPhones sold in 2016 were produced in the United States?

A) all of them
B) 63 million
C) 163 million
D) none of them

Question 26

When sociologists talk about networks of labor, production, and consumption of products that span the world, what are they referring to?

A) neoliberalism
B) dependent development
C) global commodity chains
D) global inequality

Question 27

According to world-systems theory, why must the global economic system be approached as a single capitalist unit?

A) The current system of world capitalism is not a collection of independent countries.
B) The current system of world capitalism has reached the limits of its growth as individual nations.
C) Such an analysis allows for a clearer calculation of Gini coefficients.
D) Poverty in poor nations cannot be solved except by the united effort of all capitalist countries.

Question 28

What is a characteristic of global commodity chains theory?

A) It focuses on relationships among countries rather than global businesses.
B) It examines how different countries and regions are affected by global commodity chains.
C) Business decisions are considered unimportant.
D) It emphasizes the importance of workers and governments.

Question 29

According to dependency theorists, colonialism played a vital role in the impoverishment of poorer countries because powerful countries:

A) exported technology to help countries develop
B) exploited others for their raw materials
C) brought democracy to other countries
D) signed treaties with low-income countries to encourage their development

Question 30

What type of governments contributed to economic growth in the East Asian newly industrializing economies (NIEs) during the 1980s and 1990s?

A) weak
B) totalitarian
C) strong
D) Communist

Question 31

What is a characteristic of dependency theories?

A) These theories cannot account for much of the economic backwardness in Latin America and Africa.
B) These theories explain well the success stories of Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico.
C) These theories cannot account for the expanding economies of China and East Asia.
D) These theories explain well how some formerly low-income countries have risen economically despite the presence of multinational corporations.

Question 32

What is the primary legacy of colonialism from the perspective of a dependency theorist?

A) corruption in government
B) continuing violence
C) transnational corporations
D) loss of cultural identity

Question 33

After Jamaica gained independence from its colonial ruler, Britain, it was able to develop its banana industry by having access to the banana market in Britain. How would a dependency theorist describe this process?

A) exploitation
B) colonialism
C) dependent development
D) underdevelopment

Question 34

The concept of global commodity chains attempts to describe what characteristic of the global economy?

A) the increasing globalization of manufacturing
B) the shift from global to local manufacturing
C) the increasing globalization of financial markets
D) the shift from global to local food production

Question 35

What is a characteristic of market-oriented theories?

A) blame low-income countries for their poverty rather than acknowledge outside factors
B) acknowledge the importance of business operations of more powerful nations in sustaining inequality
C) acknowledge the ways government can work with the private sector to spur economic development
D) adequately explain why some countries take off economically while others remain grounded in poverty and underdevelopment

Question 36

According to world-systems theory, the "flow" of natural resources is from:

A) core to periphery
B) periphery to core
C) semiperiphery to periphery
D) semiperiphery to core

Question 37

What is a characteristic of world-systems theory?

A) It looks at development and inequality in rich nations only.
B) It emphasizes cultural forces at the expense of economic and political ones.
C) It places too much emphasis on the role of nation-states in the world economy.
D) It places too much emphasis on the role of transnational corporations.

Question 38

Kevin sees the whole world economy as an integrated web of relations. Which theory would he most likely agree with?

A) market-oriented
B) modernization
C) dependency
D) world-systems

Question 39

Brazil is industrializing more than other Latin American countries, but it is not fully industrialized like the United States. A world-systems analysis would say that Brazil is a ________ country.

A) core
B) peripheral
C) newly industrializing
D) semiperipheral

Question 40

What do the high rates of HIV/AIDS infections in African countries suggest?

A) There is a lack of willingness of African people to practice safer sex.
B) There is a lack of willingness of African people to get medical treatment.
C) The African people experience weakened health and impoverishment.
D) The international effort to stem the tide of HIV/AIDS infections is not succeeding.

Question 41

When asked in a 2014 Pew Research Center survey whether trade creates jobs, _____ percent of respondents in the United States answered yes.

A) 20
B) 40
C) 60
D) 80

Question 42

What was highly significant about the rapid economic growth in East Asia and the Pacific?

A) The region saw a reduction in extreme poverty from 80 percent in 1981 to less than 4 percent in 2013.
B) The region was growing while the rest of the world was experiencing economic crisis.
C) This region received economic aid from the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
D) The region became a central part of the development of technology.

Question 43

Is globalization the principal cause of job loss and growing inequality in the United States?

A) Yes, most jobs have moved to Central and South America.
B) Yes, most jobs have moved to Asia.
C) No, globalization has created millions more jobs for Americans than have been lost.
D) No, due to technological advances, it simply takes fewer workers to manufacture the goods we all consume.

Question 44

The AIDS epidemic, warfare, climate change, and economic stratification have all contributed to world hunger and famine. Which statement best characterizes the causes of world hunger?

A) The majority of factors are not caused by natural forces but rather by social or human forces.
B) All of these forces are equally powerful in shaping hunger worldwide.
C) Climate change is the most severe problem that affects hunger worldwide.
D) The rapid growth of technology has recently eclipsed all other factors in how it affects hunger.

Question 45

According to Korzeniewicz and Moran, what is one reason why some countries are trapped in a cycle of long-term inequality?

A) discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, and nationality
B) lack of work ethic among the poor
C) a fatalistic attitude among the working class
D) few natural resources

Question 46

Of the 37 million people infected with HIV/AIDS, nearly 70 percent of them reside in:

A) Asia
B) the Middle East
C) sub-Saharan Africa
D) Latin America

Question 47

What does gross national income (GNI) measure? Is it a good measure of the average person's income in a country? Why does GNI not give a complete picture of economic activity in a country? Does the GNI mask within-country inequality? Your answer should be one paragraph in length.

Question 48

As world hunger has increased, global food production has:

A) significantly declined
B) slightly declined
C) stayed the same
D) increased

Question 49

Education and literacy clearly contribute to economic development and individual social mobility. Which countries have the highest percentage of their youth attending secondary school?

A) low-income countries because they see this as an important strategy for development
B) high-income countries because they have the most resources
C) middle-income countries because they have enough surplus product and see the need for education
D) Attendance at secondary school has nothing to do with development.

Question 50

Hunger is a global problem, although it does not occur equally throughout the world. Which of the following best characterizes those countries where a high percentage of people go hungry?

A) Countries with a very large population, such as China, have a very high rate of hunger.
B) Island nations have among the highest hunger rates.
C) Sub-Saharan African countries are among the highest in rates of hunger.
D) The highest concentration of hunger is found in the Middle East.

Question 51

Where would you find the highest rates of undernourishment?

A) sub-Saharan Africa
B) Central America
C) China
D) South Asia

Question 52

What is one of the ways that the HIV/AIDS epidemic has profoundly altered life in African countries?

A) It has killed a high percentage of newborn infants.
B) It has killed many working-age adults.
C) It has led to an increase in other sexually transmitted infections.
D) It has led to a reconfiguration of family structures due to the lack of fathers.

Question 53

What is the origin of the newly industrializing economies (NIEs) in East Asia today?

A) World Bank loans made in the 1950s
B) Japanese development in the 1960s
C) shrewd investments by Chinese companies in the 1970s
D) Korean development in the 1980s

Question 54

At one prominent fast-food outlet, a single serving of chicken rings has 1,750 calories, which is sold as a single meal. In contrast, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's definition of undernourishment requires ________ or fewer calories per day.

A) 1,200
B) 1,000
C) 1,500
D) 1,800

Question 55

Which region experienced such rapid economic growth between the 1960s and 1980s that most of its newly industrializing economies moved from the ranks of the poor to the middle-income category?

A) East Africa
B) South Asia
C) Central America
D) East Asia

Question 56

The World Bank defines extreme poverty as those living on less than _____ a day.

A) $1
B) $1.90
C) $10
D) $19

Question 57

According to your textbook authors, Britain's decision to leave the EU was driven in large part by concerns among many working- and middle-class voters that EU membership:

A) did not allow for sufficient immigration to fill vacant jobs
B) was hurting them economically
C) forced them to use the euro as currency
D) threatened the Church of England's autonomy

Question 58

The rapidly growing economies of the world are known as newly industrializing economies (NIEs) but more recently are termed what?

A) high-income
B) core
C) rich countries
D) emerging economies

Question 59

What is the primary reason global inequality has declined somewhat during the past decade or so?

A) technological advances
B) concern over global warming
C) the rise of social democracies
D) the economic rise of China

Question 60

According to Korzeniewicz and Moran, what is a main reason for the persistence of inequality between countries?

A) people from low-income countries immigrating to high-income countries
B) high-income countries in the world economy developing institutions that ensure they remain on top
C) restricting the flow of capital across borders
D) low-income countries restricting emigration of their citizens

Question 61

What has happened to inequality in the United States since the 1970s? Did the same pattern appear in Europe? How can this difference be explained? What do you think can reduce inequality in the United States? Your answer should be one paragraph in length.

Question 62

How do dependency theories understand global inequality? What criticisms can be made of this approach? Your answer should be one paragraph in length.

Question 63

MATCHING
a. The process whereby Western nations established their rule in parts of the world away from their home territories
b. The economic belief that free-market forces, achieved by minimizing government restrictions on business, provide the only route to economic growth
c. The world economy is made up of core, semiperiphery, and periphery countries
d. Marxist theory of economic development
e. Worldwide networks of labor and production processes yielding a finished product
f. Argues that low-income societies can develop economically only if they adopt modern economic institutions, technologies, and cultural values
g. Under certain circumstances, poor countries can still develop economically, although only in ways shaped by their reliance on wealthier countries
Dependency theory

Question 64

Is globalization the principal cause of job loss and growing inequality in the United States? What strategies would you suggest to reduce job loss and growing inequality? Your answer should be one paragraph in length.

Question 65

According to world-systems theory, the world is divided into three unequal economic zones. What are these three zones, and how are they related to each other? What criticisms can be made of this approach? Your answer should be one paragraph in length.

Question 66

MATCHING
a. The process whereby Western nations established their rule in parts of the world away from their home territories
b. The economic belief that free-market forces, achieved by minimizing government restrictions on business, provide the only route to economic growth
c. The world economy is made up of core, semiperiphery, and periphery countries
d. Marxist theory of economic development
e. Worldwide networks of labor and production processes yielding a finished product
f. Argues that low-income societies can develop economically only if they adopt modern economic institutions, technologies, and cultural values
g. Under certain circumstances, poor countries can still develop economically, although only in ways shaped by their reliance on wealthier countries
Dependent development

Question 67

MATCHING
a. The process whereby Western nations established their rule in parts of the world away from their home territories
b. The economic belief that free-market forces, achieved by minimizing government restrictions on business, provide the only route to economic growth
c. The world economy is made up of core, semiperiphery, and periphery countries
d. Marxist theory of economic development
e. Worldwide networks of labor and production processes yielding a finished product
f. Argues that low-income societies can develop economically only if they adopt modern economic institutions, technologies, and cultural values
g. Under certain circumstances, poor countries can still develop economically, although only in ways shaped by their reliance on wealthier countries
Colonialism

Question 68

Low-income countries spend a much larger percentage of their national income on education than do high-income countries.

Question 69

MATCHING
a. The process whereby Western nations established their rule in parts of the world away from their home territories
b. The economic belief that free-market forces, achieved by minimizing government restrictions on business, provide the only route to economic growth
c. The world economy is made up of core, semiperiphery, and periphery countries
d. Marxist theory of economic development
e. Worldwide networks of labor and production processes yielding a finished product
f. Argues that low-income societies can develop economically only if they adopt modern economic institutions, technologies, and cultural values
g. Under certain circumstances, poor countries can still develop economically, although only in ways shaped by their reliance on wealthier countries
Global commodity chains

Question 70

More than half of the world's hungry are found in Asia and the Pacific.

Question 71

MATCHING
a. The process whereby Western nations established their rule in parts of the world away from their home territories
b. The economic belief that free-market forces, achieved by minimizing government restrictions on business, provide the only route to economic growth
c. The world economy is made up of core, semiperiphery, and periphery countries
d. Marxist theory of economic development
e. Worldwide networks of labor and production processes yielding a finished product
f. Argues that low-income societies can develop economically only if they adopt modern economic institutions, technologies, and cultural values
g. Under certain circumstances, poor countries can still develop economically, although only in ways shaped by their reliance on wealthier countries
World-systems theory

Question 72

Between 2015 and 2025, the number of people living in low-income countries is predicted to grow more than nine times as fast as the number living in high-income countries (29 percent versus 3 percent). What explains this difference? What are the consequences? Your answer should be one paragraph in length.

Question 73

How can the success of many East Asian countries be explained? What was the role of the state? Do you think that these strategies could be used to improve conditions in low income countries today? Your answer should be one to two paragraphs in length.

Question 74

MATCHING
a. The process whereby Western nations established their rule in parts of the world away from their home territories
b. The economic belief that free-market forces, achieved by minimizing government restrictions on business, provide the only route to economic growth
c. The world economy is made up of core, semiperiphery, and periphery countries
d. Marxist theory of economic development
e. Worldwide networks of labor and production processes yielding a finished product
f. Argues that low-income societies can develop economically only if they adopt modern economic institutions, technologies, and cultural values
g. Under certain circumstances, poor countries can still develop economically, although only in ways shaped by their reliance on wealthier countries
Neoliberalism

Question 75

MATCHING
a. The process whereby Western nations established their rule in parts of the world away from their home territories
b. The economic belief that free-market forces, achieved by minimizing government restrictions on business, provide the only route to economic growth
c. The world economy is made up of core, semiperiphery, and periphery countries
d. Marxist theory of economic development
e. Worldwide networks of labor and production processes yielding a finished product
f. Argues that low-income societies can develop economically only if they adopt modern economic institutions, technologies, and cultural values
g. Under certain circumstances, poor countries can still develop economically, although only in ways shaped by their reliance on wealthier countries
Modernization theory

Question 76

A large majority of people in advanced economies believe trade creates jobs.

Question 77

Trace the global commodity chain involved in the production and sale of the Apple iPhone. Explain the concept of a global commodity chain. Use the example of the iPhone to demonstrate what tracing a commodity from production to consumption tells us about the nature of global economic activity. Your answer should be one to two paragraphs in length.

Question 78

According to market-oriented theories, how is economic development most likely to be able to proceed? What criticisms can be made of this approach? Your answer should be one paragraph in length.

Question 79

According to Roberto Patricio Korzeniewicz and Timothy Patrick Moran, what are the underlying causes of persistent inequality in the world today? What does their research suggest about solutions? Your answer should be one to two paragraphs in length.