Deck 27: Inequality and Social Policy

Question 1

While global poverty has been reduced significantly, what has been the trend in inequality?

A) It has also decreased in most countries
B) It has remained steady
C) It has increased in many countries
D) It has decreased most in the NICs
E) It has increased in the Global North

Answer 1

C

Question 2

What does a Gini coefficient score of 0 mean?

A) Perfect equality
B) Perfect inequality
C) A society split equally between rich and poor
D) A society split equally among five quintiles
E) A society where poverty and inequality are perfectly correlated

Answer 2

A

Question 3

What is global income inequality estimated to be?

A) 50 per cent
B) 55 per cent
C) 60 per cent
D) 65 per cent
E) 70 per cent

Answer 3

D

Question 4

While China's poverty rate decreased 84 per cent since the 1980s, what has happened to the inequality rates?

A) Relative inequality was regionally affected
B) Absolute equality was addressed
C) The Gini coefficient decreased
D) The Gini coefficient decreased
E) There was no meaningful connection between poverty and inequality

Question 5

Which of the following is a goal from the equality of opportunity perspective?

A) Opportunity to improve income
B) Opportunity to live a healthy life
C) Access to education
D) Create a level playing field
E) All of the above

Question 6

What has been a counter-intuitive outcome of ending apartheid in South Africa?

A) Discrimination against the white population by the Black population
B) Increased inequality within the Black population
C) Increased inequality regardless of race
D) Discrimination against the Black population by the white population
E) All of the above

Question 7

What constitutes the world's most complicated system of group differentiation?

A) The Canadian Métis
B) Han Dynasty Chinese
C) The Indian Caste system
D) British colonial system
E) Brazilian Favelas

Question 8

What is the most common form of inequality across societies?

A) Indigeneity
B) Age
C) Gender
D) Class
E) Education

Question 9

Which of the following is an established means to promote an equality of outcomes?

A) Income redistribution
B) Welfare policy
C) Trickle-down economics
D) Tax cuts
E) Tariffs

Question 10

Which of the following is an outcome that correlates with socio-economic inequality?

A) Lower competitiveness
B) Lower growth
C) Higher savings rates
D) Visible protests
E) All of the above

Question 11

What is an alternative label given to social policy meant to mitigate the negative consequences of markets?

A) Poverty eradication policy
B) Health care provision
C) Education funding
D) Safety net
E) Politically motivated funding

Question 12

For which social policy categories do data exist to assess state spending?

A) Education
B) Health
C) Social protection
D) Both A and B
E) All of the above

Question 13

How much of their GDP, on average, do developing states spend on social protection?

A) 1 per cent
B) 2 per cent
C) 3 per cent
D) 4 per cent
E) 5 per cent

Question 14

As developing states become richer, how do their spending patterns on social policy shift?

A) Increased spending in absolute terms but decreased spending in relative terms
B) Decreased spending in absolute terms but increased spending in relative terms
C) Increased spending in absolute and relative terms
D) Decreased spending in absolute and relative terms
E) There is no strong correlation between rising wealth and spending on social policy.

Question 15

What are the primary means for governments in low-income countries to raise resources?

A) Indirect taxes
B) Personal income tax
C) Taxes on natural resources
D) Both A and C
E) All of the above

Question 16

What is a constant factor in the form and function of social policy?

A) Politics
B) Social change
C) Economic change
D) Urbanization
E) Industrialization

Question 17

Historically, what two issues have motivated public policy in rural areas?

A) Poor relief and temporary aid for famines or droughts
B) Promotion of traditional safety nets for rural populations and migrant workers
C) Increased political mobilization and education
D) Disease prevention and hygiene programs
E) Medical services and infrastructure development

Question 18

What social service providers seek to generate both a financial return and provide a social good?

A) Public institutions
B) Private health care providers
C) Co-operative organizations
D) Social enterprises
E) Charitable organizations

Question 19

Which actors are involved in social policy implementation in both developing and richer countries?

A) Not-for-profit organizations
B) NGOs
C) Private actors
D) Public actors
E) All of the above

Question 20

In systems of universal care, services are provided by whom?

A) Private service providers
B) Public institutions
C) Charitable organizations
D) Independent donors
E) NGOs

Question 21

According to Gøsta Esping-Andersen, what type of social policy regime has a strong bias toward targeting of social assistance and a narrow definition of both risk and state responsibility?

A) Universalistic
B) Corporatist
C) Liberal
D) Conservative
E) Revisionist

Question 22

What process undid many of the gains made in the provision of social policy following decolonization?

A) The creation of the IMF and World Bank
B) Structural adjustment
C) The increasing role of NGOs in the global south
D) Infrastructure loans
E) Population growth

Question 23

What is the purpose of "targeting" in policy development?

A) To focus government resources on areas which will generate the most return
B) To use a geographic approach to policy implementation
C) To ensure the most in need receive benefits
D) To build up basic services
E) To find synergy between industry and public policy

Question 24

Which of the following is a substantive critique of targeting?

A) It is vulnerable to external manipulation.
B) It may create tensions between recipients and donors.
C) It increases the size of government.
D) It leads to corruption.
E) It undermines universal approaches to social policy.

Question 25

Which type of social policy is most disputed?

A) Universal health care
B) Targeted spending
C) Affirmative action
D) Urban infrastructure spending
E) Direct taxation

Question 26

What kinds of groups focus on the intrinsic arguments to inequality?

A) Civil rights groups and feminist movements
B) Pro-apartheid groups
C) Anti-feminists
D) Pro-life groups
E) Governments

Question 27

Why is inequality important from an instrumental point of view?

A) It is intrinsically unfair
B) European countries are forced to do more in redistributing income in developing countries
C) It can have negative economic or political effects
D) Women are expected to do all the household work
E) Women lack access to productive opportunities and gender gaps in education

Question 28

Why do some economists think that inequality is useful?

A) Inequalities can have an impact on saving and spending patterns
B) A degree of inequality produces a lack of economic incentives
C) Overall economic growth can reduce gender gaps in education
D) Certain forms of inequality do not reduce individuals' or groups' chances to fully contribute to the economy
E) A degree of inequality produces economic incentives

Question 29

How can inequality have an impact on voting?

A) Rich people tend to save more and spend less of their total income during elections
B) It can lead to protests
C) Higher inequality leads to increased pressure to redistribute income, affecting voting behaviour
D) Countries marked by more gender equality are more competitive and have better voting rates
E) There is generally less consensus about the moral case for equality of outcomes

Question 30

Where has COVID-19 had a major impact?

A) On vulnerable groups
B) Migrants
C) People working and living in crowded conditions
D) Front-line workers
E) All of the above

Question 31

In October 2020, how much did the World Bank estimate that the GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa would decline?

A) 1 per cent
B) 5 per cent
C) 7 per cent
D) 2 per cent
E) 3 per cent

Question 32

How is extreme poverty defined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

A) Living on less than US$5.90 per day
B) Living on less than US$4.90 per day
C) Living on less than US$3.90 per day
D) Living on less than US$2.90 per day
E) Living on less than US$1.90 per day

Question 33

What are the two main ways to measure inequality?

A) A base line and outcome
B) Outcome and opportunity
C) A base line and opportunity
D) The Gini coefficient and the SDGs
E) The Gini coefficient and income share

Question 34

Which countries are the most inequal in the world?

A) Mexico and Denmark
B) Colombia and Denmark
C) Mexico and Colombia
D) Denmark and India
E) India and Colombia

Question 35

Why is it so difficult to calculate income in poorer countries?

A) only a part of what is produced and consumed is monetized
B) most of what is produced in brought to a market
C) households are taken as measurements
D) measurements focused on consumption
E) their population live under $2.90 per day

Question 36

Addressing inequality requires a broader set of policies than addressing poverty.

Question 37

The Gini coefficient is the most commonly used measure of poverty.

Question 38

In both rich and developing countries, income can be accurately measured.

Question 39

A household's income does not predict the risk of falling into poverty.

Question 40

Poverty is synonymous with inequality.

Question 41

For many people, equality of opportunity is more important than equality of outcome.

Question 42

The World Values Survey is conducted by the World Bank to assess perception of its policies.

Question 43

Gender inequality is the most common form inequality across societies.

Question 44

A key aspect of gender inequality is women's role in the "care economy."

Question 45

Inequality is important have negative economic and political effects.

Question 46

Social policy is a narrower field of inquiry then poverty alleviation.

Question 47

There are no data on the three primary sectors of social policy: education, health, and social protection.

Question 48

Many rich countries spend more than 20 per cent of their GDP on social protection.

Question 49

In high-income countries, a large share of revenues comes from indirect taxes.

Question 50

To understand the impact of social policy on inequality, it is important to look at spending and taxation.

Question 51

Historically, public policies for rural areas were limited to poor relief and for famine/droughts.

Question 52

In aid-dependent countries, foreign help creates space for policy innovation.

Question 53

Governments have a key role in the regulation of social policy.

Question 54

A well-designed social safety net ensures that people are protected during crises.

Question 55

Democratic processes can help ensure proper management of public resources.

Question 56

In Latin America and East Asia, corporatism has helped to shape public policies.

Question 57

Pension plans are part of traditional social security programs.

Question 58

Structural adjustment programs stressed the provision of social services.

Question 59

A weakness of affirmative action is that the benefits may only go to a small subset of the intended group.

Question 60

Good social policy analysis is also political analysis.

Question 61

South Africa's group inequalities are uniquely rooted in colonial history and do not compare to other examples.

Question 62

Different from South Africa, Latin American countries' social group differences do not have colonial origins.

Question 63

India's social group differences were reinforced by colonialism.

Question 64

"Adivasi" groups do not suffer from deeper poverty.

Question 65

Inequalities between religious groups are the most common form of inequality across societies.

Question 66

In federally organized countries, states or provinces have a key role in setting social policies.

Question 67

A common opinion about providing people with benefits is that it will increase their incentive to work.

Question 68

In the late 1990s, the World Bank introduced "social funds".

Question 69

There are no simple measures of universalism.

Question 70

Social policy analysis needs to understand the political motivations and constituencies and the different social policy approaches that emerge from it.

Question 71

How is inequality different from poverty?

Question 72

How is income measured in agricultural families in poorer countries?

Question 73

How do inequality measures compare to poverty measures?

Question 74

What two things can inequality in opportunity relate to?

Question 75

What does the World Values Survey tell us about attitudes towards inequality?

Question 76

What are the three primary socio-economic boundaries in India?

Question 77

What are the instrumental reasons that make addressing inequality important?

Question 78

What is social policy?

Question 79

What does a high share of private spending on health care indicate?

Question 80

How does urbanization generate new public policy?