Deck 2: Economic Inequality

Question 1

American sociologists traditionally have conceptualized social class as:

A) unidimensional in nature
B) groups in conflict with each other
C) very different from "socioeconomic statuses"
D) existing on a continuum with indistinct boundaries between classes

Answer 1

existing on a continuum with indistinct boundaries between classes

Question 2

The Marxian view considers social classes as:

A) defined by their relationship to one another
B) being determined by income and occupation
C) much more multidimensional than the traditional view
D) inevitably remaining categories, rather than ever becoming groups

Answer 2

defined by their relationship to one another

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT correct?

A) While economic changes affect inequality, so do government policies.
B) Higher unemployment tends to result in less pressure for increased wages.
C) An inability to penetrate foreign markets leads to lower wealth for stockholders.
D) While technological developments can affect the structure of inequality, cultural values do not.

Answer 3

While technological developments can affect the structure of inequality, cultural values do not.

Question 4

The term underclass is frequently used to refer to:

A) those that are poor but still work
B) those that work but are underpaid compared to their skill set
C) those that are unemployed and poor for long periods of time
D) those on welfare

Question 5

According to Gilbert's (2003) class model, the majority of the population falls into:

A) the middle and working class
B) the underclass
C) the upper class
D) the capitalist class

Question 6

The routine nature of much low-level white-collar work has caused some analysts to categorize these workers as:

A) middle class
B) working class
C) lower class
D) underclass

Question 7

The proletarianization argument states that an increasing number of white-collar jobs are:

A) routine, boring, and demand little skill
B) are no different from many blue-collar jobs
C) involve little worker control
D) all of the above

Question 8

Examination of occupational shifts during the 1990s suggest that changes have occurred throughout the economy, resulting in:

A) the decrease of high-tech jobs
B) an increase in low-paying service jobs
C) the increase of unionized, high-paying manufacturing jobs
D) all of the above

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT a true statement regarding the economic crisis in Asia in the 1990s?

A) the currencies were devalued
B) prices of their goods dropped
C) importation of goods into the U.S. became more attractive
D) none of the above

Question 10

Advances in computer technologies and the growth of the internet:

A) have narrowed the gap between classes and races
B) have made employees more loyal to their employers
C) have blurred the line separating home and workplace
D) have limited recruitment of employees from different geographic areas

Question 11

According to Gilbert, which portion of the U.S. population comprises the capitalist class?

A) 1 percent
B) 5 percent
C) 10 percent
D) 15 percent

Question 12

Survey data indicates that most Americans see themselves as:

A) upper class
B) middle class
C) working class
D) being affiliated with no particular class

Question 13

The embourgeoisement thesis states that:

A) white-collar workers make up a "new working class"
B) much white-collar work has become routine and deskilled
C) the size of the blue-collar work force has increased dramatically
D) those in complex, high-paying blue-collar jobs take on middle-class characteristics

Question 14

Sociologists today generally employ two basic measures to estimate the degree of economic inequality within U.S. society. These are:

A) race and class
B) income and wealth
C) occupation and education
D) computer and Internet access

Question 15

Resnick and Wolff contend that the U.S. class structure can be centrally defined on the basis of:

A) occupational prestige
B) socioeconomic status
C) role relative to surplus value
D) lifestyle and consumption patterns

Question 16

Erik Wright argues that:

A) workers compose less than 25 percent of the class structure
B) career path has little to do with determining one's class position
C) an adult's class position can be determined independently of a family's class position
D) those who do not own the firms they manage occupy a contradictory location in the U.S. class
Structure

Question 17

Upper-class Americans are more likely to see class differences as essentially reflecting _______, whereas those in the lower reaches of the class structure are more likely to see class distinctions between themselves and the affluent as being based on _________.

A) lifestyle / money
B) wealth / status symbols
C) deservingness / exploitation
D) educational attainment / occupational attainment

Question 18

Data on income distribution shows that:

A) most Black and Hispanic households have incomes below the poverty line
B) the percentage of households with incomes of at least $100,000 increased markedly from 1970 to 2003
C) the percentage of households with incomes below $15,000 increased significantly over the last three decades
D) households headed solely by adult males have significantly higher incomes than those headed
Jointly by married couples

Question 19

Which figure comes closest to the percentage of the U.S. population who were poor in 2003?

A) 5%
B) 15%
C) 25%
D) 35%

Question 20

Among the factors that appear to be related to a rise in income inequality is (are):

A) increasing unionization
B) changes in the occupational structure
C) lower unemployment rates
D) an increase in the minimum wage

Question 21

Since the early 1980s:

A) wealth concentration actually decreased
B) most of the gains in wealth have gone to the middle class
C) the percentage of those with negative or zero wealth has declined
D) the top 20% gained a disproportionate amount of all new wealth in the U.S.

Question 22

According to Ollman's (1987) approach, people become a real social class when they:

A) acquire a common culture and political awareness
B) overthrow the capitalist class
C) organize labor unions
D) none of the above

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT a true statement regarding the economic crisis in Asia in the 1990s?

A) the currencies were devalued
B) prices of their goods dropped
C) importation of goods into the U.S. became more attractive
D) none of the above

Question 24

Downsizing, lean production, and the exportation of jobs to cheaper foreign labor markets have been primary ways used by:

A) foreign governments to ensure that they are able to pay their workers fairly
B) U.S. manufacturers to reduce costs and respond to foreign competition
C) multinational corporations to provide more benefits to employees
D) U.S. corporations to increase employee satisfaction

Question 25

A consequence of penetration of U.S. firms into foreign countries is:

A) higher incomes for many U.S. workers
B) higher unemployment among U.S. workers
C) reduction of profit for U.S. firms
D) the increase in power of workers to demand minimum wage increases

Question 26

A recent national survey found that households with incomes of at least $75,000 are ____ times more likely than those with lower incomes to have internet access?

A) 5
B) 20
C) 50
D) 80

Question 27

Which of the following is a limitation of using income to measure a family's or individual's economic well-being?

A) income does not include the value of stocks, real estate, and other noncash economic assets
B) government studies measuring income use measures and methodologies that are too similar
C) there is an overreporting of income
D) none of the above

Question 28

Which of the following is a TRUE statement regarding poverty?

A) The U.S. Census Bureau takes region and expenses into account when measuring poverty.
B) The poverty rate of female-headed families in twice that of married-couple families.
C) Hispanics and Blacks have poverty rates that are almost the same as those of Whites.
D) The poverty rate of children is higher than that for any other age group.

Question 29

Which of the following is NOT a true statement regarding wealth and income inequality?

A) Income inequality is far greater than wealth inequality because most people do not have much in the way of wealth.
B) Since 1983, the bottom 40 percent lost 76 percent in wealth.
C) Since 1983, the wealth of the top 1 percent rose to over $10 million.
D) None of the above.

Question 30

Which of the following is a true statement regarding wealth and income?

A) Good broad-based information about the wealthy and wealth concentration is easier to find than information on the poor.
B) Wealth includes the value of homes, automobiles, businesses, savings, investments, and other assets, minus debt.
C) Income fully reflects the access of the wealthy to a greater number of economic tools and opportunities.
D) Income is the most complete measure of a family's economic power

Question 31

Studies of wealth distribution in the early U.S. consistently point to the fact that: (p 30)

A) a large percentage of individuals during this period had great wealth
B) wealth inequality didn't arise until industrialization
C) wealth was fairly easily distributed during this period
D) wealth inequality was a clear and consistent condition during this period

Question 32

Which of the following is NOT a true statement regarding contemporary U.S. wealth concentration?

A) In 2004, the richest 1 percent controlled about one-third of all privately held wealth.
B) In 2004, the wealthiest 20 percent owned almost 85 percent of all wealth.
C) In 2004, the bottom 40 percent held under 1 percent of all wealth.
D) Between 1995 and 2004, 90 percent of all gains in wealth were made by the middle quartile.

Question 33

Which of the following is NOT a true statement regarding inheritance in the U.S.?

A) Historically, inheritance of wealth has helped to stabilize, reproduce, and exacerbate economic inequality.
B) Inheritance provides head-start assets such as paying for college and down-payment assistance.
C) Historically, family and inheritance have been the major sources of wealth among the corporate rich.
D) None of the above.

Question 34

Which of the following has the greatest numbers living in extreme poverty?

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

Question 35

In 2000, among all the Western industrial nations, the United States had:

A) the highest relative poverty rate
B) the greatest percentage of children in poverty
C) the third highest rate of poverty among the elderly
D) all of the above

Question 36

The _____ view envisions globalization as raising the average economic fortunes of all nations while the ______ view sees globalization as a force that strengthens the opportunities of powerful nations to take advantage of less powerful nations and exploit their labor.

A) conflict/functionalist
B) positivist/anarchist
C) collectivist/conflict
D) neoliberal/critical

Question 37

Since the early 1800s up to the recent past, most world inequality has been due to:

A) economic inequality between nations
B) political corruption within nations
C) economic inequality within nations
D) social inequality between nations

Question 38

Globalization has:

A) reduced employment in high-paying manufacturing jobs
B) increased the price of many goods
C) increased the average wage of the U.S. worker
D) increased the demand for low-skilled as opposed to high-skilled labor

Question 39

Economic and technological developments have become increasingly significant for the changing composition of classes.

Question 40

Workers who leave a job and then re-enter employment generally do so at a lower salary or wage.

Question 41

Most studies of the U.S. middle class indicate a shrinking in its size.

Question 42

The incomes of most of the poor fall just below the poverty line.

Question 43

Proletarianization refers to the fact that the working class continues to get smaller.

Question 44

Most Americans do not believe that they belong to a class.

Question 45

Those in the working and lower classes are more likely to see the upper class as being distinguished by lifestyle while those in the higher classes see their main distinction as being based on wealth.

Question 46

Generally, those in the upper classes are more likely than those in the lower classes to believe there is a greater polarization of income and wealth.

Question 47

Occupational positions that are seen as requiring mental ability or as having authority over others are generally classified as at least middle class as opposed to working class. .

Question 48

Traditionally, U.S. researchers have defined social class purely economically. .

Question 49

The traditional, more conservative measure in the U.S. assumes that the structure of social class or socioeconomic status is nonconflictual in nature.

Question 50

Recently, the lines distinguishing blue-collar and white collar work have been sharpened.

Question 51

Blue collar work is always considered working class.

Question 52

Several studies have found support for the proletarianization thesis by showing that there has been an increase in the proportion of the labor force that are managers, experts, or supervisors.

Question 53

Marx believed that class is not defined by income or occupation, but rather by ownership/control in the system of production.

Question 54

The high level of unionization and the presence of a working-class political party in the United Sates have enabled the development of class solidarity.

Question 55

Wright's characterization of the U.S. class structure uses exploitation as the defining element.

Question 56

There appears to be agreement across class models that the upper or capitalist class makes up a large percentage of the population.

Question 57

Between 2006 and 2016 employment in the field of information technology is expected to decrease dramatically.

Question 58

The demand for goods produced by U.S. workers fluctuates with economic and political changes in other countries.

Question 59

The 2008-09 economic crisis in the United States has only affected U.S. workers.

Question 60

Money income, as defined by the Census Bureau, includes money from virtually all sources, including wages, salaries, Social Security, welfare, pensions, and others.

Question 61

Female-headed families have less than half the income of married-couple families.

Question 62

Since 2000, the average hourly, weekly, and annual wages of workers has increased.

Question 63

Those on the top of the wealth pyramid are more likely to have their wealth in stocks, bonds, and related investments as opposed to savings and home ownership.

Question 64

Edward Wolff's data source yields a more accurate picture of wealth distribution because it uses a broader definition of net worth and a more inclusive sample of wealthy individuals.

Question 65

In 2004, over one quarter of the poorest 20 percent had debts that exceeded 40 percent of their total incomes.

Question 66

Economically, Blacks and Whites benefit equally from education and occupation.

Question 67

In Forbes 2007, the vast majority of the richest 400 Americans obtained their wealth through technological innovations, media dominance, or financial market activities as opposed to inheritance.

Question 68

Income is distributed much more unequally between Whites and others than is wealth.

Question 69

In 2007, the United States ranked at the top of all the industrial nations according to the United Nations' living standards index which included poverty levels, literacy rates, health conditions, and unemployment.

Question 70

Thirty-nine of the world's 229 countries hold more than 80 percent of all wealth.

Question 71

In the 'grand' theory of globalization, globalization is narrowly conceptualized and views it strictly as an economic phenomenon.

Question 72

Poor countries are more likely to be in favor of globalization because free trade allows their farmers to obtain subsidies.

Question 73

Despite variations, on the whole there seems to be a general consensus that globalization reduces economic inequality within countries, including the U.S., and has contributed to greater world equality.

Question 74

What factors lie behind rises in income inequality in the U.S. in recent decades?

Question 75

Outline the dominant historical trends in wealth distribution in the U.S.

Question 76

Compare and contrast the class structure models of Gilbert and Wright.

Question 77

What have been the principal methodological issues in studies of wealth and income distribution?

Question 78

You are given the task of assessing the general level of economic well-being across populations within the largest 100 U.S. cities. The only two statistics that you have access to are mean family income and median family income. If you must only use one of these indicators,which would you employ and why?

Question 79

How do Marxian analysts differ from traditional analysts in their conception of classes?

Question 80

Discuss the specific ways in which the class structure of society is shaped by the political, cultural, and economic context in which it is embedded. How has technology helped to shape the U.S. class structure?