Deck 16: The Economy and Work

Question 1

Looking at economies around the world, the primary sector is the largest in:

A) high-income nations.
B) middle-income nations.
C) low-income nations.
D) It is the same size in all nations.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The Industrial Revolution accelerated with the development of which of the following new sources of energy?

A) the gasoline engine
B) the steam engine
C) wind power
D) electricity

Answer 2

B

Question 3

As a social institution, the economy:

A) produces and distributes goods and services.
B) guides the consumption of goods and services.
C) operates in a relatively predictable manner.
D) All of the above are correct.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The postindustrial economy is defined by:

A) the spread of factories.
B) mass production of goods and services.
C) manufacturing of raw materials.
D) service work and computer technology.

Question 5

The economy first became a distinct social institution during which historical era of societal development?

A) hunting and gathering societies
B) agrarian societies
C) industrial societies
D) postindustrial societies

Question 6

Which of the following statements about the Information Revolution is NOT correct?

A) There was a shift from making tangible products to generating ideas.
B) There was a shift from mechanical skills to literacy skills.
C) There was a shift from farming to turning raw materials into products.
D) There was a shift from working in factories to working almost anywhere.

Question 7

Early factories in New England, where the Industrial Revolution first developed in the United States:

A) employed women for half the wages paid to men.
B) manufactured textiles.
C) discouraged any worker organizations.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 8

Which of the following concepts refers to an economy based on computer technology?

A) postindustrial economy
B) industrial economy
C) technological economy
D) agrarian economy

Question 9

As societies industrialize, a smaller share of the population works in which of the following locations?

A) farms
B) factories
C) assembly lines
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 10

The expansion of office work marks the growth of the economy's:

A) primary sector.
B) secondary sector.
C) tertiary sector.
D) None of the above is correct.

Question 11

Turning metals into automobiles is work that falls within the:

A) primary sector.
B) secondary sector.
C) tertiary sector.
D) Any of the above would be correct.

Question 12

The development of agriculture was set in motion by:

A) changes in the church.
B) hitching animals to the plow.
C) the discovery of writing.
D) the discovery of oil.

Question 13

In the United States, about what percentage of the labor force performs tertiary sector work?

A) 18 percent
B) 38 percent
C) 58 percent
D) 78 percent

Question 14

What sector of the economy generates raw materials directly from the natural environment?

A) primary sector
B) secondary sector
C) tertiary sector
D) None of the above is correct.

Question 15

Globalization of the economy means that:

A) world regions specialize in one sector of economic activity.
B) more and more products pass through several nations.
C) a small number of businesses represent a large share of the planet's economic output.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 16

Which social institution is widely considered to have the greatest effect on society as a whole?

A) the family
B) the economy
C) the political system
D) religion

Question 17

The Industrial Revolution was based on:

A) the spread of cottage industry.
B) people beginning to work in their homes.
C) a decrease in productive specialization.
D) new sources of energy.

Question 18

Over the course of human history, changes in which of the following have brought the greatest changes to the economy?

A) productive technology
B) the family
C) population size
D) natural resources

Question 19

The concept "global economy" refers to:

A) expanding economic activity that moves across national borders.
B) the fact that only a few countries now contribute to the global economy.
C) the fact that economic output is under the control of global political leadership.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 20

The text describes three technological revolutions that transformed all of social life. Which of the following is NOT one of them?

A) the Agricultural Revolution
B) the Industrial Revolution
C) the Immigration Revolution
D) the Information Revolution

Question 21

Capitalism is an economic system in which there is:

A) government control of production.
B) private ownership of property.
C) pursuit of collective interests.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 22

Which of the following countries best exemplifies a system of state capitalism?

A) the United States
B) Great Britain
C) Australia
D) Japan

Question 23

Over the course of the last century, the number of people involved in agricultural work:

A) has remained about the same.
B) has declined steadily.
C) has increased dramatically.
D) has stayed the same, although a larger share of workers are immigrants.

Question 24

Which of the following concepts refers to a political and economic system that combines a mostly market-based economy with extensive social welfare programs?

A) capitalism
B) socialism
C) welfare capitalism
D) communism

Question 25

The concept "state capitalism" refers to a system in which:

A) the government owns and operates most economic enterprises.
B) privately-owned companies cooperate closely with the government.
C) the government owns but does not operate most economic enterprises.
D) large businesses control the government.

Question 26

An example of a country with a mostly private economy and extensive social welfare programs is:

A) the United States.
B) Sweden.
C) Japan.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 27

In a capitalist economic system, "justice" amounts to:

A) doing what is best for society's poorest members.
B) everyone being more or less socially equal.
C) freedom of the marketplace where a person can follow self-interest.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 28

Yesterday's family farms have given way to:

A) importing most foods from abroad.
B) collectively-run farming communes.
C) corporate agribusinesses.
D) smaller, individually-run farms.

Question 29

What is the hypothetical economic and political system in which all people in society are socially equal?

A) capitalism
B) socialism
C) welfare capitalism
D) communism

Question 30

The United States is a mostly capitalist nation because:

A) the vast majority of productive businesses are privately owned.
B) we have a system of free elections.
C) of our high living standards.
D) of the extensive government control of the economy.

Question 31

The social thinker whose ideas most supported the operation of a free-market economy was:

A) Thorstein Veblen.
B) Adam Smith.
C) Karl Marx.
D) Max Weber.

Question 32

Contrasted to socialist economic systems, capitalist economic systems are typically:

A) equally productive.
B) more productive.
C) less productive.
D) not concerned with productivity.

Question 33

The concept "primary labor market" refers to:

A) jobs that provide extensive benefits to workers.
B) jobs typically taken by teenagers.
C) jobs that require no particular training or experience.
D) jobs that offer little pay and low security.

Question 34

In a socialist economic system, "justice" amounts to:

A) trying to meet the basic needs of all in a equal manner.
B) doing whatever helps boost company earnings.
C) freedom of the marketplace.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 35

In the United States about what share of the population aged sixteen and older is in the paid labor force?

A) one-fifth
B) one-third
C) two-thirds
D) nine-tenths

Question 36

Contrasted to socialist economic systems, capitalist economic systems typically:

A) generate more economic inequality.
B) generate less economic inequality.
C) generate about the same level of inequality.
D) do not generate any social equality.

Question 37

By about 1950, most of the people in the U.S. labor force had which type of job?

A) white-collar
B) blue-collar
C) pink-collar
D) farming

Question 38

Concerning the issue of personal freedom, capitalist systems emphasize people's _____, while socialist systems emphasize people's _____.

A) collective needs personal needs
B) freedom from basic want freedom to pursue their self-interest
C) freedom to pursue their self-interest freedom from basic want
D) social needs material needs

Question 39

Which of the following DO NOT describe the operation of a socialist economy?

A) collective orientation
B) government control of production
C) laissez-faire economy
D) command economy

Question 40

Socialism is an economic system in which there is:

A) collective control of production.
B) private ownership of property.
C) pursuit of individual profit.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 41

Compared to agricultural work, industrial jobs involve less specialization.

Question 42

Agricultural production is part of the primary sector of the economy.

Question 43

What percentage of today's U.S. workers are self-employed?

A) 7.2 percent
B) 27.3 percent
C) 47.3 percent
D) 67.3 percent

Question 44

The Information Revolution has concentrated workers in offices, drawing people from a wide region into dense, central cities.

Question 45

A conglomerate is:

A) a giant corporation composed of many smaller corporations.
B) a corporation in the manufacturing sector.
C) a corporation engaged in both legal and illegal activity.
D) any company that completely dominates a market.

Question 46

Read the four descriptions below. Which of them DOES NOT apply to a profession?

A) having theoretical knowledge of a field
B) working for a large, well-established company
C) having authority over clients
D) professing a community, rather than an individual, orientation

Question 47

Dependency theorists see large corporations as:

A) the key to meeting the needs of people in poor nations.
B) helping poor nations to develop local industries.
C) a major source of foreign investment for poor nations.
D) intensifying global inequality.

Question 48

Which of the following would be included in the operation of the underground economy?

A) a teacher who is on disability leave for a long time
B) an executive who illegally "borrows" funds from the company
C) a taxi driver who fails to report most of her income
D) food servers who are paid less than the minimum wage

Question 49

Modernization theorists see large corporations as:

A) offering little to help poor nations seeking to develop.
B) unleashing the productive power of capitalism to speed development in poor nations.
C) responsible for the debt crisis in many poor nations.
D) needing the technology currently available in poor nations.

Question 50

The economy did not emerge as a distinct social institution until the Industrial Revolution.

Question 51

Which category of the U.S. population is showing the greatest labor-force increase in terms of percentage?

A) white men
B) Hispanic women
C) white women
D) African American women

Question 52

The economy organizes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

Question 53

The concept "oligopoly" refers to:

A) any corporation with more than $1 billion in sales.
B) the largest company in a particular field.
C) domination of a market by a few producers.
D) a large company operating in all three economic sectors.

Question 54

The Information Revolution requires workers to gain literacy skills instead of the mechanical skills that were important during the Industrial Revolution.

Question 55

The invention of the corporation is generally taken as the point at which a postindustrial society emerged.

Question 56

One key to industrialization was creating new sources of energy.

Question 57

Computers are having which of the following effects on the workplace?

A) Computers are deskilling labor.
B) Computers are limiting workplace interaction.
C) Computers enhance employers' control of workers.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 58

The global economy pays little regard to national borders.

Question 59

The concepts "primary sector," "secondary sector," and "tertiary sector" refer to how productive a sector is in terms of economic value.

Question 60

In recent decades, union membership:

A) has risen in the United States and other high-income nations.
B) has risen in the United States, but not in other high-income nations.
C) has declined in the United States, but not in other high-income nations.
D) has declined in the United States and other high-income nations.

Question 61

In the United States, union membership is higher today than ever before.

Question 62

Combining market production and extensive social welfare programs yields what is called "welfare capitalism."

Question 63

Adam Smith's idea was that, in a capitalist system, government tells businesses what to produce and tells consumers what to buy.

Question 64

In recent years, the lowest unemployment rates in the United States have been among teenagers.

Question 65

Capitalism is more productive than socialism, and capitalism also creates greater economic inequality.

Question 66

The self-employed are more likely to have blue-collar jobs than white-collar jobs.

Question 67

The concept "state capitalism" refers all productive enterprises in a country being owned by the government.

Question 68

Prostitution and sale of illegal drugs are typically part of the underground economy.

Question 69

This chapter's Sociology in the News explains that, in recent years, the entry-level wages that many of today's young workers depend on have not kept up with inflation.

Question 70

About 1 percent of today's U.S. labor force works in agriculture.

Question 71

A recent trend in the United States is a steady rise in the share of small businesses owned by women.

Question 72

Taken together, local, state, and federal governments are the U.S.'s largest single employer.

Question 73

Most people with jobs in the primary labor market would probably rather have jobs in the secondary labor market.

Question 74

Socialist economies create greater economic equality than capitalist economies, but with a lower overall living standard.

Question 75

Most self-employed persons are professionals.

Question 76

Socialism is spreading around the world to the point that, today, a majority of the world's nations have a socialist economic system.

Question 77

The U.S. workforce is becoming more "white," even as immigration rates rise.

Question 78

The concept "paraprofessional" refers to work that requires skills, but typically lacks a broad theoretical knowledge of a field.

Question 79

Socialism is also called a "laissez-faire" economic system.

Question 80

Although there are many privately owned companies in the United States, most of the U.S. economy is owned and operated by the government.