Deck 2: Analyzing Economic Inequalities

Question 1

George was born into the nobility. Susan was a serf living in the land he had lordship over. After a chance meeting, George and Susan were married, and Susan's social position changed. This society is stratified based on which criteria?

A) caste
B) slavery
C) estate
D) social class

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Ava was born into a middle-class household. When she graduated from high school, she decided to work for her father's construction business instead of going to college. When her father retired, Ava took over the business and ultimately had a middle-class family of her own. What concept describes Ava's experience?

A) negative wealth
B) mobility
C) stratified
D) social class reproduction

Answer 2

D

Question 3

In spite of the fact that Aisha was born a Shudra, or a low-status worker, her Hindu faith tells her that if she is a good person, she will be reborn into a higher group. She focuses not on her daily struggles, but instead on the better life she will have when she is reincarnated. Aisha's society is stratified based on which criteria?

A) caste
B) slavery
C) estate
D) social class

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which perspective theorizes economic inequality as an exclusive benefit to the wealthy and powerful?

A) social reproduction theory
B) Davis-Moore hypothesis
C) negative wealth
D) redistribution policies

Question 5

What variable is the strongest predictor of the social class status an individual attains throughout their life?

A) parent's social class
B) educational attainment
C) neoliberalism
D) union membership

Question 6

Which perspective is characterized by a desire to lower taxes, weaken unions, decrease regulation, and increase the power wielded by corporations?

A) social class
B) neoliberalism
C) stratified
D) negative wealth

Question 7

What policy calls for the government to move money from one group to another for the purposes of reducing economic inequality?

A) neoliberalism
B) Davis-Moore hypothesis
C) redistribution policies
D) social capital

Question 8

It is common for Americans to wear clothes made in Southeast Asia due to outsourcing of manufacturing jobs. Multinational corporations can find cheap labor and import products at a low cost. Which concept describes this process?

A) civil liberties
B) social capital
C) cultural capital
D) globalization

Question 9

Robert has the right to legally own lower stratified people as if they were property. Robert's society is stratified based on which criteria?

A) caste
B) slavery
C) estate
D) social class

Question 10

Which Global North nation has the highest level of wealth inequality?

A) Canada
B) Japan
C) United States
D) Finland

Question 11

Income inequality among nations has ______, while income inequality within nations has ______.

A) decreased; decreased
B) increased; increased
C) increased; decreased
D) decreased; increased

Question 12

Valerie grew up middle class. She became one of the best surgeons in the country and ran a successful private practice. Valerie's parents and grandparents were public school teachers and taught her the value of hard work and education. What describes the mobility she experienced compared to her parents' generation?

A) intragenerational mobility
B) intergenerational mobility
C) redistribution
D) meritocracy

Question 13

What variables are used to determine an individual's social class?

A) education, income, and occupation
B) occupation, wealth, and income
C) cultural capital, merit, and occupation
D) merit, income, and education

Question 14

Patrick graduated college and worked as a financial analyst for three years. The firm he worked for experienced a crisis due to fraudulent activity and he was laid off. He enjoyed a comfortable upper class lifestyle before he was laid off. After months of being unemployed, his house was under foreclosure and he suffered a devastating illness. Due to his special medical needs he went on government assistance and moved in with his brother's family. Patrick's shifting class position illustrates ______.

A) intragenerational mobility
B) intergenerational mobility
C) redistribution
D) meritocracy

Question 15

The richest one percent of people in the world own about ______ of the world's wealth.

A) one percent
B) one-fifth
C) one-third
D) one-half

Question 16

According to the Davis-Moore hypothesis, what is the cause of economic inequality?

A) The rich and powerful exploit the poor.
B) The power structure of society legitimizes inequality.
C) Automation makes manual labor less valuable.
D) The fair distribution of societal rewards.

Question 17

Silvia was born in a poor household, but was lucky enough to attend good schools over the course of her life. She applied herself to her studies, eventually obtained a medical degree, and became a wealthy doctor. Silvia's society is stratified based on which criteria?

A) caste
B) slavery
C) estate
D) social class

Question 18

Which perspective considers economic inequality to be good for society?

A) social reproduction theory
B) Davis-Moore hypothesis
C) negative wealth
D) redistribution policies

Question 19

When an individual has the ability to move up or down the social class ladder this is known as ______.

A) neoliberalism
B) cultural capital
C) mobility
D) stratified

Question 20

If you want to calculate your ______, you need to add up the value of everything you own, and subtract the amount of money you owe.

A) income
B) wealth
C) social class
D) retirement

Question 21

Which president declared a War on Poverty?

A) Franklin D. Roosevelt
B) Lyndon B. Johnson
C) Barack Obama
D) Donald Trump

Question 22

Which president passed the New Deal?

A) Franklin D. Roosevelt
B) Lyndon B. Johnson
C) Barack Obama
D) Donald Trump

Question 23

Which social factor caused a recent decline of air quality in Japan?

A) oppression of the poor
B) government corruption
C) tariffs
D) climate change

Question 24

How does economic inequality influence culture?

A) People work harder.
B) More people enroll in college.
C) People are less happy.
D) More people support welfare programs.

Question 25

If people's incomes are mostly predicted by the income of their parents the country has a low level of ______.

A) neoliberalism
B) intergenerational mobility
C) intragenerational mobility
D) polarization

Question 26

How are minimum wage laws related to economic inequality?

A) A stagnant minimum wage contributes to economic inequality.
B) A low minimum wage helps the overall economy.
C) Countries with the lowest minimum wage are the most economically equal.
D) The United States lowered the minimum wage to get out of the Great Depression.

Question 27

Which statement is true about education in the United States?

A) College is more affordable now than ever before.
B) High school graduates earn about half of what a college graduate earns.
C) College is free for people on public assistance.
D) Public schools for K-12 equally prepare all students for higher education.

Question 28

Which statement is true about crime in the United States?

A) The United States has one of the lowest violent crime rates in the Global North.
B) Economic inequality increases the murder rate.
C) Mental health issues are the highest predictor of homicide rates.
D) Non-violent property crimes decrease as economic inequality increases.

Question 29

Which statement is true about countries with higher tax rates?

A) Their economies grow slower.
B) They have less inequality and higher mobility rates.
C) They have high levels of economic inequality.
D) Their middle class suffers.

Question 30

Which is a political consequence of high levels of economic inequality?

A) more political parties
B) landslide elections
C) citizens become complacent and apathetic
D) low-income people lack representation

Question 31

Social reproduction assumes that society is ______ and the Davis-Moore hypothesis assumes that society is a/an ______.

A) fair; oligarchy
B) fair; meritocracy
C) unfair; oligarchy
D) unfair; meritocracy

Question 32

Countries with an unequal distribution of income and wealth are more likely to ______.

A) oppress civil liberties
B) fund public schools
C) produce more talent
D) have high rates of mobility

Question 33

What is the relationship between economic inequality and democracy?

A) The most democratic societies are the most unequal.
B) Economically unequal countries are more likely to devolve into dictatorships.
C) There is more political turmoil in countries that redistribute wealth with progressive tax policy.
D) Economic inequality contributes to social cohesion because everyone knows their place.

Question 34

During which period of time did the United States increase income and wealth equality through economic policy?

A) 1900 to 1920
B) 1930 to 1960
C) 1970 to 2000
D) 2000 to present

Question 35

What is the outcome of "Right-to-work" laws?

A) safer working conditions
B) weakening unions
C) strengthening unions
D) subsidized healthcare

Question 36

How does social capital benefit people in the upper-class?

A) They can afford private tutors.
B) They have better health outcomes.
C) They are more likely to be wealthier than their parents.
D) They know people in power who can open up opportunities for them.

Question 37

Which is an example of cultural capital?

A) A person from the lower class has exceptional math ability and gets a full-ride scholarship to a public university.
B) A recent college graduate gets a prestigious internship with a recommendation from a family friend.
C) The society values good deeds over money.
D) The society values money over good deeds.

Question 38

What was the purpose of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933?

A) launching the Food Stamp Pan
B) establish unions
C) end child labor
D) regulation of banks

Question 39

What was a victory for the Occupy Wall Street movement?

A) awareness of economic inequality
B) abolishing income tax
C) establishing an estate tax
D) support for neoliberalism

Question 40

People who live in areas with high economic inequality are more likely to ______.

A) remain single
B) get married
C) trust each other
D) vote

Question 41

If talented, hard-working people still face barriers to social mobility, then that suggests that social reproduction theory is a better approach to economic inequality than the Davis-Moore hypothesis.

Question 42

Hailie experienced intragenerational mobility when she graduated medical school, got a great paying job, and was able to attain a higher social class than her parents.

Question 43

On average, American women make 80 cents for every dollar a man makes.

Question 44

Economic inequality only causes negative societal consequences if the poorest members of a society do not make enough money to take care of their basic needs.

Question 45

Economic inequality is essentially the same thing as economic contraction.

Question 46

The main cause of social class reproduction is the transmission of a poor work ethic from parents to children.

Question 47

Economic inequality results in an imbalance of political power; as a result, poorer citizens have less success fighting back against high-polluting corporations in their communities.

Question 48

The richest 10% of households in the United States own a smaller percentage of the country's wealth when compared to Canada, Belgium, and Japan.

Question 49

When you owe more than the value of everything you own, this is known as negative wealth.

Question 50

The richest 10% of households in the United States own approximately 80% of the country's wealth.

Question 51

Since the 1980s, intergenerational income mobility has started to decrease.

Question 52

In order to determine someone's social class, you must know about their education, occupation, and income.

Question 53

White full-time employees have the highest average income for any racial group.

Question 54

Stratification refers to the separation of members of a society into strata, or groups, that are arranged among a social hierarchy.

Question 55

The Davis-Moore hypothesis argues that inequality is a social problem that must be addressed.

Question 56

Being skilled and knowledgeable about leisure activities enjoyed by the upper class, such as golf or sailing, is one form of cultural capital that can help people get ahead in upper class society.

Question 57

Social reproduction theory argues that those who succeed are not the ones who worked the hardest, but rather they are the ones who were born with more opportunities to begin with.

Question 58

Women are more likely than men to choose jobs with flexible schedules because they are less likely to be expected to pay household bills.

Question 59

The most predictive variables of an American's social class are their talents, skills, and merit.

Question 60

Children from wealthy households benefit from cultural capital thanks to their influential connections to people who can help them get a leg up on the competition.

Question 61

Compare the concepts of wealth and income.

Question 62

Social reproduction theory and the Davis-Moore hypothesis each identify people who benefit from economic inequality. For each approach, identify who benefits from economic inequality and why.

Question 63

Neoliberal economic policies are more successful in reducing poverty than Johnson's War on Poverty-era policies.

Question 64

Compare intergenerational mobility and intragenerational mobility.

Question 65

High economic inequality within a country is correlated with lower levels of social mobility.

Question 66

Describe how different systems of stratification permit, or prohibit, movement up or down in the social hierarchy.

Question 67

What economic policies have been suggested to reduce economic inequality?

Question 68

Social movements are rarely successful in raising awareness about economic inequality.

Question 69

Meritocracy is the widely-shared cultural belief that people who experience economic success in the United States were rewarded for their hard work, dedication, and skill. How does this belief impact how the public views the upper classes and the lower classes?

Question 70

What variables are used to determine an individuals' social class?

Question 71

When a state adopts "right-to-work" laws, the pay decreases for both union and non-union employees.

Question 72

What are social and cultural capitals, and why are they important?

Question 73

The Davis-Moore hypothesis argues that economic inequality can be reduced if laws are created to ensure that people have similar opportunities and resources to succeed, no matter what social class they were born into.

Question 74

Occupy Wall Street helped spur the movement for a $15/hour minimum wage.

Question 75

Describe some of the societal health problems caused by economic inequality.

Question 76

Social reproduction theory argues that high levels of economic inequality are good for society.

Question 77

In spite of the lofty goals, policies advocated by President Johnson in his "War on Poverty" was ultimately unable to decrease poverty rates in the United States.

Question 78

How do neoliberal policies and redistributive policies impact economic inequality in the United States?

Question 79

While government policies can increase economic inequality, they are capable of reducing economic inequality as well.

Question 80

Increases in economic inequality are strongly correlated with increases in violent crime.