Deck 2: Globalization, Neoliberalism, and the Nation-State

Question 1

What is credit money?

A) Paper currency redeemable on demand.
B) Paper currency backed by either gold or silver.
C) Paper currency not legally redeemable.
D) Paper currency only issued by governments.

Answer 1

Paper currency not legally redeemable.

Question 2

How does debt money actually become worth something?

A) By being converted into new types of debt
B) Through government decree
C) In situations in which debt money is backed by gold
D) By being converted into something of value

Answer 2

By being converted into something of value

Question 3

Karl Polanyi argued that the market:

A) was the most efficient way of distributing goods.
B) could be destructive to labor and environment if not regulated.
C) was evidence of "an invisible hand".
D) was really a form of barter.

Answer 3

could be destructive to labor and environment if not regulated.

Question 4

When particular commodities such as cotton are analyzed, what do you learn about the application of neoliberal policies in the United States in practice?

A) Few government officials care about neo-liberalism.
B) American cotton producers used to receive significant government cash subsidies.
C) Government officials do not support cotton production in Texas.
D) American production techniques make US cotton price competitive.

Question 5

What material symbol defines what is important in life for most people in Europe and the United States?

A) Money
B) Food
C) Sports
D) Kin

Question 6

Much of the economic growth in core countries over the past fifty years is a result of what key process?

A) The increased number of women in the workforce
B) A rapid increase in immigration
C) The transformation of social capital activities into market activities
D) The U.S. decision to end the gold standard

Question 7

Each time you charge something on a credit card, you have created:

A) Commodity money.
B) Fiat money.
C) Credit money.
D) Debt money.

Question 8

The purpose of the World Trade Organization is to:

A) protect and defend its members.
B) regulate currency transactions between countries.
C) ensure the free flow of goods and services across national boundaries.
D) approve projects related to economic development.

Question 9

Neoliberalism takes all BUT which of the following as core principles?

A) Government action is usually linked to special interest groups, which distort the market's operation.
B) Government action in the economy should be minimal.
C) Government regulation of markets provides stability.
D) Individual entrepreneurs should be able to operate in a free market.

Question 10

Economic crises are:

A) Rare.
B) Unusual.
C) Not unusual.
D) Plentiful.

Question 11

Capital conversion is the process by which:

A) nonmonetary resources are changed into items that can be bought and sold.
B) investment is made in banks.
C) regulations are instituted in the economy.
D) currency exchange rates are determined.

Question 12

According to Robert Putnam, the main reason for a decline in social capital in the United States is:

A) the replacement of a civic-minded generation with less active citizens.
B) the presence of increased personal wealth.
C) a decline in average family size.
D) the role of television and Internet.

Question 13

One advantage of inflation is that:

A) The value of money increases.
B) The cost to pay back a debt is cheaper.
C) The value of debt increases.
D) The cost to get a loan is cheaper.

Question 14

Simply put, economic systems are about:

A) the exchange of goods for money
B) the rules, mechanisms and relationships that let people get what they need and want
C) the distribution of goods and services
D) all of these

Question 15

The Mount Pelerin Society argued that:

A) Keynesian economic policies were beneficial to society.
B) Economic growth would be dangerous to the world environment
C) Limited government regulation best suited economic growth
D) Commercial trade should be limited and taxed

Question 16

Political capital is defined as:

A) the act of voting.
B) the freedom to regulate one's own life.
C) being employed by the government.
D) the act of collectively solving problems.

Question 17

Why is perpetual economic growth necessary in a modern market economy?

A) Because the world's population continues to increase.
B) Because citizens now expect a constantly rising living standard.
C) Because the constant creation of debt money requires the creation of additional money to cover interest payments.
D) Because the money supply is generally stable.

Question 18

How does 'commodity money' differ from 'fiat money'?

A) Fiat money is backed by something of intrinsic value.
B) Commodity money is actually a barter system.
C) Fiat money requires more than two parties.
D) Commodity money is backed by something of intrinsic value.

Question 19

In the United States, the number of people who have taken out student loans to pay for college is about:

A) 10 thousand
B) 10 million
C) 20 million
D) 40 million

Question 20

Wall Street is about finance, that is:

A) making money with money.
B) making money through complex schemes.
C) making money so long as government regulation is minimized.
D) making money for general well-being.

Question 21

Neoliberals generally argue that state intervention in economic activity should be minimized.

Question 22

The people of Parma, Michigan welcomed the hog-farming operation because it provided a number of new jobs.

Question 23

According to the author, what contributed to the rise of the Iraqi insurgency following the 2003 U.S. invasion?

A) Resentment at their defeat
B) Latent support for Saddam Hussein
C) The imposition of neoliberal economic policies on Iraq
D) Unhappiness at the slow pace of economic reform

Question 24

According to Karl Polanyi, unrestricted and unregulated market practices would help develop a freer and more creative society.

Question 25

The recession that began in 2007 was due to a slowdown in economic growth.

Question 26

Paper money has been used as a form of currency since around 5000 BC.

Question 27

How can governments avoid responsibility for domestic environmental concerns?

A) Practice "sustainable growth"
B) Remove all regulations on corporate practices
C) Displace regulatory power onto global governance institutions such as the WTO
D) Encourage global activism on specific environmental issues

Question 28

Contemporary market practices encourage the constant transformation of social and political capital into economic capital.

Question 29

The housing market collapse had its roots in

A) The Exxon Valdez disaster
B) The Dutch tulip mania
C) The dot-com bubble
D) The Iraq war

Question 30

To maintain the growth of the money supply, the output of goods and services needs to constantly increase.

Question 31

Free trade is one part of which economic perspective?

A) Command economy
B) Keynesianism
C) Neoliberalism
D) Capitalization

Question 32

The problem with simply creating more and more money is that the money, by itself, is worthless.

Question 33

When you buy a car, which of these costs is externalized?

A) The manufacturing cost
B) The retailer's cost
C) The cost of a public road system
D) Licensing fees

Question 34

Governments balance the competing demands of citizens and corporations by doing all BUT ONE of the following:

A) Pay lip service to social, political, and environmental concerns by emphasizing values such as democracy and freedom, but take little action.
B) Seek to identify government or private entities to make new policy.
C) Free corporations and the mass media to spin events and news to allay public fears and interests.
D) Displace regulatory power onto unelected and largely remote global governance institutions.

Question 35

More than forty of the richest institutional entities in the world are corporations, not nation-states.

Question 36

For most people in the United States, money is the primary means of obtaining what they need and want.

Question 37

In 1971 the U.S. finally moved to a:

A) commodity money system.
B) fiat money system.
C) representative monetary system.
D) gold exchange system.

Question 38

What is the biggest difficulty in attempting to regulate the modern economy?

A) Such policies are usually not popular among citizens.
B) Increased regulation will affect economic growth.
C) Most government officials are supported by financial lobbyists.
D) Such policies seldom are successful.

Question 39

Once an economy allows people to make money with money, perpetual economic growth becomes a necessity.

Question 40

The annual costs associated with automobile fatalities in the U.S. are an example of:

A) market externalities.
B) consumer choice.
C) pure free markets.
D) All of these choices

Question 41

Neoliberals think the only role for government is to expand economic growth and advance trade.

Question 42

Automobile ownership is not impacted by social inequality.

Question 43

In the late 20^th Century, U.S. cotton growers' profits were due to government subsidies.

Question 44

The housing bubble collapse can actually be traced to the Dutch tulip bubble.