Deck 11: The United States in Global Context

Question 1

Even though assessing the degree of income inequality in different societies is difficult, reasonable conclusions can be drawn.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

As has been true throughout history, much of the world's population is desperately poor.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Even though the rate of poverty is high in many developing societies, people's life chances are still unlimited.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

In comparison to the United States, some developing nations display more poverty but similar or even less income inequality.

Question 5

One argument is that Western industrial nations (the so-called "core societies") have an interest in exploiting undeveloped nations (the so-called "peripheral societies).

Question 6

It is probably true that Western industrial nations have exploited developing nations and it is also probably true that many of these nations have adopted policies that mainly benefit their own elites.

Question 7

The different economic and social conditions-both within each nation and between them create a number of problems for researchers including:

A) the fact that data are gathered in different years.
B) the fact some countries do not pay people "income"
C) the condition whereby researchers do not include slavery in their calculations.
D) poor phone connections between the U. S. and other countries.
E) the universal unemployment in most African countries.

Question 8

Which of the following statements is correct?

A) The level of poverty in developing nations is not much higher than in the U.S.
B) The level of poverty in developing nations is significantly lower than in the U.S.
C) Although the high rate of poverty in developing nations is high, people's life chances are still unlimited.
D) None of these statement is correct.
E) The high rate of poverty in developing nations means restricted life chances for their citizens.

Question 9

Although data on global poverty rates are tricky to obtain and interpret, one standard measure is the percentage of a nation's population living on less than _____________.

A) three acres of land
B) half the U.S. poverty line.
C) a cup of rice per day
D) $2.00 per day
E) $10.00 per day

Question 10

High level of poverty and restricted ________________ imply that many developing nations exhibit a very unequal income distribution.

A) political mobility
B) life chances
C) residential mobility
D) access to computer technology
E) religious practices

Question 11

Most developing nations display both more poverty and more income inequality than _________________.

A) Ukraine
B) Brazil
C) China
D) India
E) The United States

Question 12

Economic development is difficult in peripheral societies because investment decisions are often made in terms of the interests of ___________________ and their governments.

A) the wealthy in those societies
B) the middle class in those societies
C) the powerful labor unions
D) corporations based in core nations
E) a secret power elite that controls most international commerce.

Question 13

Although most people in most developing societies are poor, some nations, such as Japan and South Korea, have successfully pursued ________________ over the past half- century.

A) the "big" payoff
B) technological piracy
C) colonial strategies
D) economic development
E) the exploitation of North America's natural resources.

Question 14

The overall level of inequality in Japan and Korea resembles that displayed in Western nations, and is lower than in ______________.

A) China
B) The United States
C) Sweden
D) The Netherlands
E) The United Kingdom

Question 15

As Peter Berger suggests, the more a developing nation is _________________, the greater its economic development.

A) in competition with its neighbors
B) shifting from a right wing to left wing government
C) included in the world capitalist system
D) strictly religious
E) experiencing population growth

Question 16

Even though the distribution of valued resources in the U.S. has become more unequal in recent years, it seems less harsh when compared to that in ____________.

A) the 1950s or 1960's
B) Sweden
C) The United Kingdom
D) developing nations
E) counties such as Japan and Korea

Question 17

All Western nations display high rates of occupational mobility.

Question 18

The poverty rate in the United States is significantly higher than in other Western nations

Question 19

Despite recent increases, the U.S. still displays less inequality than do other Western nations

Question 20

Given higher rates of poverty, it follows that the United States displays much more inequality in the income distribution than does

A) Sweden.
B) Brazil.
C) Asian Rim nations.
D) it closest neighbors Canada and Mexico.
E) any other Western industrial nation.

Question 21

From one angle of vision, data from other Western industrial societies suggest that the United States is ______________.

A) relatively equal
B) more collegial
C) the one nation that demonstrates the least inequality
D) less anomic
E) very unequal