Deck 8: Global Inequality

Question 1

Stefano suggests that it is problematic to analyze poverty in developing countries from the perspective of dominant racial, ethnic, and religious groups while ignoring subordinate racial, ethnic, and religious groups. Why might he hold this position?

A) Sociological studies are almost never done from the perspective of dominant groups.
B) Focusing on subordinate groups yields more accurate results in sociological studies.
C) Poverty is often at least a partial result of belonging to subordinate racial, ethnic, and religious groups in these countries.
D) All groups are subordinate in low-income countries.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

According to the textbook, what is the relationship between a country's income level and its population growth?

A) High-income countries tend to have higher fertility rates than low-income countries.
B) Low-income countries have higher fertility rates than high-income countries.
C) Low-income countries tend to have the lowest fertility rates due to fears of infectious diseases.
D) Middle-income countries have the lowest fertility rates because of their investment in birth control options, including condoms.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

James lives in a country that has a mostly agricultural economy and has only recently begun to industrialize. He lives in a ________ country.

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

Answer 3

C

Question 4

According to the textbook, countries that make up the former Soviet Union are considered:

A) high income.
B) middle income.
C) low income.
D) Asian.

Question 5

According to the textbook, how is housing changing in low-income countries?

A) People are leaving cities to dwell on farmland.
B) Masses of people are beginning to own homes solely for themselves.
C) Hundreds of millions of people are moving into huge, densely populated cities.
D) Large segments of these populations now have air-conditioned homes.

Question 6

Jennifer lives in a country that consumes a large percentage of the world's resources, despite its relatively small population. She likely lives in a ________ country.

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

Question 7

Your textbook identifies three important functions of education for addressing global inequality, one of which is its contribution to economic growth. Education helps economic growth because:

A) it helps people understand the importance of adopting modern culture for economic advancement.
B) it decreases infant mortality, leaving more family members to contribute to the family economy.
C) it helps young adults live apart from their parents, thus growing community development.
D) it increases the size of the skilled workforce in high-wage industries.

Question 8

Liu lives in a country in which most people have adequate housing, food, and drinkable water. It is likely that he lives in a(n) ________ country.

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

Question 9

According to the textbook, high-income countries are generally those countries that:

A) skipped the feudal stage of development.
B) were colonized by other nations.
C) are largely based on socialist economic policies.
D) were the first to industrialize.

Question 10

According to the textbook, the global standard of living has ________ over the past thirty years.

A) rapidly increased
B) slowly increased
C) rapidly decreased
D) slowly decreased

Question 11

The World Bank classifies nations as low income, lower middle income, upper middle income, or high income based on their per-person gross national income, or GNI-a number that reflects the average income in those nations. Why might sociologists find this form of classification problematic?

A) Making cross-national comparisons of income ignores the role of culture in making some groups used to poverty.
B) The number is an average of incomes in a country, and it can mask inequality within a specific nation.
C) Global economic comparisons need to take into account the mode of production in every given nation.
D) Too many people lie about their incomes to make the number useful.

Question 12

According to your textbook, most of the gains in global standard of living have been made for people in:

A) low-income countries.
B) middle-income countries.
C) low- and middle-income countries.
D) middle- and high-income countries.

Question 13

More than 40 percent of all urban residents in developing countries live in:

A) occupied factories.
B) slums.
C) government housing.
D) urban farms.

Question 14

The higher fertility rates in low-income countries illustrate the fact that low-income countries:

A) have more crowded urban centers than high-income countries.
B) have more agricultural than industrial economies, making children important sources of labor.
C) are more industrialized than middle-income countries, so they need more wage earners.
D) are more likely to send children to school for longer periods of time.

Question 15

Sonyuchka studies countries that are located primarily in east and southeast Asia, the oil-rich countries of the Middle East and north Africa, the Americas (Mexico, Central America, Cuba, and other countries in the Caribbean and South America), and the once-communist republics that formerly made up the Soviet Union and its eastern European allies. She is likely studying ________ countries.

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

Question 16

According to the textbook, the middle-income countries are primarily located in:

A) North America.
B) continental Europe.
C) east and southeast Asia.
D) sub-Saharan Africa.

Question 17

To show the progress humanity has made, Sandra notes that the average income in the world has gone up over the past few decades. What evidence might a sociologist give to contradict her?

A) The average income has actually declined.
B) Despite a recent rise in average global income, the average income has fluctuated consistently over the years.
C) Despite an earlier rise in average global income, the average income has stagnated for the past three decades.
D) Despite a rise in average global income, there is still huge inequality between people in high-income nations and the rest of the world.

Question 18

According to the textbook, low-income countries tend to have ________ economies.

A) highly egalitarian
B) industrialized
C) developed but highly unequal
D) agricultural

Question 19

Mary studies countries that were among the first to industrialize. It is likely that she is studying ________ countries.

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

Question 20

Sociologists are interested in how fertility rates in low-income countries may contribute to higher poverty rates in the long term. They would argue that education affects global poverty by:

A) decreasing population growth.
B) increasing high-wage industries.
C) reducing harsh working conditions.
D) decreasing marriage rates among more educated people.

Question 21

Lloyd has been studying Uganda for decades. Based on his research, he believes that barriers to trade, minimum wage laws, and environmental regulations that affect Ugandan businesses are getting in the way of development and should be minimized or eliminated. His view is best described as:

A) Marxism.
B) social democracy.
C) neoliberalism.
D) anarchism.

Question 22

Pepe believes that we need to consider forces beyond natural disasters and other natural forces when we talk about global inequality. Which answer best explains why he might feel this way?

A) Social forces also play a factor in large groups of people going without food.
B) Considering only natural forces does not take into account individual perceptions of control over resources and access to opportunity.
C) Pepe must be a Marxist, because only Marxists try to catalog factors for inequality that are not naturally occurring.
D) Pepe understands that natural forces do not affect global hunger.

Question 23

Modernization theory argues that:

A) state-run economies are most efficient for creating modernized countries.
B) low-income countries must preserve their traditional cultures to develop.
C) high-income countries have a responsibility to give free resources to low-income countries.
D) low-income societies can develop economically only if they give up their traditional ways and adopt modern economic institutions, technologies, and cultural values that emphasize savings and productive investment.

Question 24

According to the textbook, the combination of drought and internal warfare are the primary explanations for:

A) the spread of the AIDS epidemic in low-income countries.
B) the average per-person income differences between low-income and middle-income countries.
C) high rates of undernourishment in low-income countries.
D) political conflict between low-income and middle-income countries.

Question 25

Christopher concludes a journal article he has written with the following sentence: "This irony points out that hunger is probably not a problem of production; it is a problem of distribution." What irony is Christopher likely referring to?

A) There really is not enough food to go around.
B) Food production has been steadily increasing, often in countries experiencing widespread hunger.
C) The gendered nature of hunger disproportionately affects men.
D) Although often seen as a privileged group, poor whites constitute the largest segment of hungry people in the world.

Question 26

According to UNICEF (2015), nearly half of all deaths of children under the age of five are attributable to:

A) child labor.
B) parental neglect.
C) pollution.
D) undernutrition.

Question 27

According to the textbook, how has the HIV/AIDS epidemic contributed to food shortages in some countries?

A) HIV-infected food passes on the virus.
B) Money that could be spent on food is spent on medications.
C) The virus kills many working-age adults who might otherwise contribute to food production.
D) The epidemic pushes scientists out of those countries into nations where they can conduct food research without worrying about it.

Question 28

Keynesian economists begin with the assumption that the state should regulate economic policy for everyone's benefit. Why might sociologists who use market-oriented theories be critical of this idea?

A) They believe that markets without state interference lead to the best economic outcomes.
B) Market-oriented theorists think that the state should control all markets.
C) They think that higher taxation rates for the poor are the best way to curb welfare provisions.
D) They believe that markets should be abolished in favor of a planned economy.

Question 29

The textbook notes that cultural traditions such as Confucian philosophy-with its emphasis on respect for elders, frugality, and hard work-may explain some of the economic advances in East Asia. This assertion is similar to Weber's argument that capitalism in Europe was influenced by:

A) Catholicism.
B) Protestantism.
C) Evangelicalism.
D) Agnosticism.

Question 30

Jian Mei explains in her work that philosophy led to economic development in many of east Asia's newly industrializing economies. She is likely referring to:

A) the role of Confucianism in encouraging obedience, loyalty, and thrift.
B) the ways that Zen stresses letting go of emotion.
C) how Christianity spread to east Asia through European missionaries.
D) the enforced atheism of communist China and its stress on the importance of money.

Question 31

According to dependency theorists, what keeps low-income countries poor?

A) Poor countries have a culture of poverty that makes them dependent on wealthy countries.
B) Global capitalism locks poor countries in a downward spiral of exploitation and poverty.
C) Women have a low status in low-income countries.
D) Poor countries have a rigid caste system that prevents economic advancement.

Question 32

Sanjay studies global hunger, particularly in Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Tajikistan. Why might she focus specifically on these countries?

A) Hunger does not affect other countries significantly.
B) The combination of drought and internal warfare has wrecked food production in these countries.
C) These countries have the same cultural practices around food.
D) Foreign aid to these countries has all but stopped.

Question 33

Ida studies the economic landscape of Bolivia. Her research has led her to believe that Bolivia will never develop until it abandons its traditional culture and instead focuses on productive investment. What theory or set of theories best describes her view?

A) dependency theories
B) state-centered theories
C) world-systems theory
D) modernization theory

Question 34

Neoliberalism asserts that:

A) free-market forces, achieved by minimizing governmental restrictions on business, provide the only route to economic growth.
B) economic development can occur only if accompanied by liberal social values, such as securing a woman's right to abortion and supporting same-sex marriage.
C) state involvement in the economy should be relatively high, even at times running entire industries.
D) social democratic programs, such as generous welfare policies and free education provided by the state, are the bedrock of economic growth.

Question 35

The textbook notes a recent health crisis that emerged in West Africa. The disease spread quickly because it was new to the region and because there were few health care facilities, poor-quality roads, and insufficient transportation in rural areas. This epidemic was called:

A) the New Malaria Epidemic.
B) the West Nile Virus Epidemic.
C) the Ebola Epidemic.
D) the Whooping Cough Epidemic.

Question 36

What is one of the explanations a sociologist would give to someone who wants to understand the recent economic advances of the east Asian emerging economies?

A) Most were part of colonial situations that imposed many hardships but also helped pave the way for economic growth.
B) Economic growth in this region took off when Russia provided generous economic aid that fueled the development of local industries.
C) Dictatorial controls allowed for smoothly run, centrally planned economies that eschewed democratic planning as well as market mechanisms.
D) Many of the east Asian governments shared a Buddhist philosophy of meditation that contributed to their economic advances.

Question 37

Illness and disease among low-income countries are often a result of poor sanitation, polluted water, and susceptibility to disease brought on by famine and malnutrition. This illustrates the fact that most serious illnesses and diseases in low-income countries are:

A) degenerative disorders, like heart disease.
B) infectious diseases.
C) the same as the most common diseases in high-income countries, but with higher frequency.
D) more likely to result in death in middle-income countries than in low-income countries.

Question 38

Salvatore studies the debate around universal health care in the United States. He prefers economic theories that suggest that the best possible outcomes in health care happen when the government does not interfere in economic decisions. Lorenzo prefers what theory or set of theories?

A) dependency theories
B) state-centered theories
C) world-systems theory
D) market-oriented theories

Question 39

According to the textbook, market-oriented theories of global inequality assume that the best possible economic consequences will result if:

A) competent politicians carefully regulate markets.
B) individuals are free-uninhibited by any form of governmental constraint-to make their own economic decisions.
C) cooperative enterprises replace privately owned businesses to create egalitarian markets.
D) the public is provided with free access to public education.

Question 40

Alyssa is a fierce advocate for indigenous rights and ways of life. Why might she be critical of the modernization theory of development?

A) Modernization theory typically suggests that traditional societies must abandon their traditional ways and embrace modern economic institutions.
B) Modernization theory suggests that the state should run the economy, which leaves no place for indigenous involvement.
C) Modernization theory treats indigenous people like noble savages who have all the correct answers to life's problems.
D) Modernization theory focuses too much on the role of women in economic development, and indigenous communities already have prescribed roles for women.

Question 41

Why would state-centered theorists be critical of market-oriented theorists?

A) State-centered theorists see state intervention as the major cause of underdevelopment and global inequality.
B) State-centered theorists view the market as the natural and best method for economic development.
C) State-centered theorists think historical evidence shows that men tend to be better suited to be economic players than women.
D) State-centered theorists think that state intervention in the economy can play a key role in development.

Question 42

Yessenia studies mid-twentieth-century India. In her studies, she notes how Great Britain established direct rule over India for profit. She is taking note of what process?

A) colonialism
B) participatory planning
C) assembly making
D) communization

Question 43

State-centered theories of global inequality and economic development argue:

A) that state involvement in the economy interferes with prosperity.
B) that appropriate government policies do not interfere with economic development but rather can play a key role in bringing it about.
C) that the state is constructed in such a way that it must impede development.
D) that any economic theory should be focused solely on state actors and political action.

Question 44

Mustafa is a world-systems theorist who studies the world's most powerful countries and outlines how those nations take the largest shares of the world's wealth. He is studying what kind of countries?

A) core
B) peripheral
C) semiperipheral
D) futuristic

Question 45

Country A has been able to apply existing technologies to the production of goods. Country B has created many different technologies and is able to make a large profit by making these technologies available to other nations, including Country A. Country B is an example of:

A) a technology adopter.
B) a technological disconnect.
C) a technology dominant.
D) a technology innovator.

Question 46

The doctrine of neoliberalism asserts that underdeveloped countries can develop by freeing up markets and allowing foreign corporations to operate within their borders. Why might dependency theorists critique this idea?

A) Dependency theorists would argue that the only way for underdeveloped nations to develop is to borrow from foreign banks and not rely on corporations.
B) Dependency theorists would argue that foreign states provide a much more stable source for income for underdeveloped nations.
C) Dependency theorists would respond that low-income nations need revolutionary changes that would push out, rather than welcome, foreign corporations.
D) Dependency theorists would argue that the legacy of colonialism has already led to positive forms of development in low-income countries.

Question 47

Carolina is using world-systems theory to research resource-rich countries that tend to send resources to the wealthiest nations, which then sell them back to those countries for a profit. She is studying what kind of countries?

A) core
B) peripheral
C) semiperipheral
D) futuristic

Question 48

Dependency theories can be described as:

A) structural theories that show how people on welfare and other forms of social assistance become dependent on it and are thus unable to develop economically.
B) Marxist theories of economic development arguing that the poverty of low-income countries stems directly from their exploitation by wealthy countries and the multinational corporations that are based in wealthy countries.
C) cultural theories that suggest that some cultures are simply not fit for economic development.
D) explanations for how families with many dependents force countries into economic downturns.

Question 49

The approach that examines how networks of labor, production, and consumption span the entire world is called:

A) McDonaldization.
B) national franchising.
C) industrialization.
D) global commodity chains.

Question 50

In a short paragraph, explain how the World Bank measures global inequality. What are some of the problems with measuring global inequality in this way?

Question 51

Famine and hunger are caused by both natural and social forces. In a short paragraph, explain some of the social forces that cause hunger, malnutrition, and starvation.

Question 52

Morgan takes the common view that economics must be viewed as independent nations engaged in diplomatic and economic relations with one another. Why would world-systems theorists critique this idea?

A) World-systems theorists would argue that we must not view the world as independent nations but rather as continents of nations that compete for continental dominance of the market in the world system.
B) World-systems theorists would suggest that Morgan's view runs the risk of delegitimizing the neoliberal project of creating world market systems that could develop the entire globe.
C) World-systems theorists would assert that the world capitalist system is not merely a collection of independent nations but must be understood as a single-world system.
D) World-systems theorists would argue that the world system should actually be analyzed by looking at global finance as a competition between independent cities, with London and New York City as the world's centers of international finance.

Question 53

World-systems theory argues that natural resources flow from ________ to ________.

A) north; south
B) periphery; core
C) semiperiphery; periphery
D) core; periphery

Question 54

________ argues that the world capitalist economic system is not merely a collection of independent countries engaged in diplomatic and economic relations with one another but rather must be understood as a single unit.

A) Neoliberalism
B) Postmodernism
C) Structuration theory
D) World-systems theory

Question 55

________ examine(s) the key role that state policies play in economic development of particular countries.

A) Dependency theories
B) State-centered theories
C) World-systems theory
D) Modernization theory

Question 56

Alejandra believes that poverty in Colombia is largely due to exploitation by the United States and multinational corporations originating in the United States. Her view is best described as corresponding to what theory or set of theories?

A) dependency theories
B) state-centered theories
C) neoliberalism
D) modernization theory

Question 57

The United States would be considered one of the ________ countries in world-systems theory.

A) peripheral
B) subordinate
C) semiperipheral
D) core

Question 58

Why might dependency theorists criticize modernization theory?

A) They would point out that the only way for traditional societies to develop is to shed their traditional ways.
B) They would argue that modernization theory ignores the fact that markets, if freed from state intervention, will develop any society.
C) They would point out that traditional societies are typically low income because of a history of colonialism and oppression.
D) They would suggest that in recent history, historically exploited nations have actually become the new exploiters through global welfare schemes.

Question 59

The process whereby Western nations established their rule in parts of the world away from their home territories is called:

A) socialism.
B) Manifest Destiny.
C) colonialism.
D) Southern hegemony.

Question 60

After studying the political economy of modern Germany, Fran concludes that we must consider the world capitalist economy as a single unit instead of looking at individual countries. Her view is best described by what theory or set of theories?

A) dependency theories
B) state-centered theories
C) world-systems theory
D) modernization theory

Question 61

Identify and discuss the three key ways that education can reduce global poverty, as outlined in your textbook, and give an example of each. In your answer, please link the effect of education on global poverty, fertility rates, and child labor in low-income countries.

Question 62

In a short paragraph, compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of the four competing sociological theories that explain global inequality.

Question 63

What is the role of technology in deepening existing global inequalities? Please explain in three to five sentences.

Question 64

In two to three sentences, describe how market-oriented theories explain global inequality.

Question 65

In three to five sentences, describe how world-systems theory explains global inequality.

Question 66

Many countries are considered emerging economies, including a handful in eastern Asia whose growth is considered extraordinary compared to other emerging economies. In a short paragraph, explain some of the problems that have accompanied emerging economies in this part of the world.

Question 67

In two to three sentences, describe how state-centered theories explain global inequality?

Question 68

In a short paragraph, describe how dependency theorists explain global inequality.