Full Test Bank Inequality And Social Policy Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27

Inequality and Social Policy

Multiple Choice Questions

1. While global poverty has been reduced significantly, what has been the trend in inequality?
   1. It has also decreased in most countries
   2. It has remained steady
   3. It has increased in many countries
   4. It has decreased most in the NICs
   5. It has increased in the Global North
2. What does a Gini coefficient score of 0 mean?
   1. Perfect equality
   2. Perfect inequality
   3. A society split equally between rich and poor
   4. A society split equally among five quintiles
   5. A society where poverty and inequality are perfectly correlated
3. What is global income inequality estimated to be?
   1. 50 per cent
   2. 55 per cent
   3. 60 per cent
   4. 65 per cent
   5. 70 per cent
4. While China’s poverty rate decreased 84 per cent since the 1980s, what has happened to the inequality rates?
   1. Relative inequality was regionally affected
   2. Absolute equality was addressed
   3. The Gini coefficient decreased
   4. The Gini coefficient decreased
   5. There was no meaningful connection between poverty and inequality
5. Which of the following is a goal from the equality of opportunity perspective?
   1. Opportunity to improve income
   2. Opportunity to live a healthy life
   3. Access to education
   4. Create a level playing field
   5. All of the above
6. What has been a counter-intuitive outcome of ending apartheid in South Africa?
   1. Discrimination against the white population by the Black population
   2. Increased inequality within the Black population
   3. Increased inequality regardless of race
   4. Discrimination against the Black population by the white population
   5. All of the above
7. What constitutes the world’s most complicated system of group differentiation?
   1. The Canadian Métis
   2. Han Dynasty Chinese
   3. The Indian Caste system
   4. British colonial system
   5. Brazilian Favelas
8. What is the most common form of inequality across societies?
   1. Indigeneity
   2. Age
   3. Gender
   4. Class
   5. Education
9. Which of the following is an established means to promote an equality of outcomes?
   1. Income redistribution
   2. Welfare policy
   3. Trickle-down economics
   4. Tax cuts
   5. Tariffs
10. Which of the following is an outcome that correlates with socio-economic inequality?
    1. Lower competitiveness
    2. Lower growth
    3. Higher savings rates
    4. Visible protests
    5. All of the above
11. What is an alternative label given to social policy meant to mitigate the negative consequences of markets?
    1. Poverty eradication policy
    2. Health care provision
    3. Education funding
    4. Safety net
    5. Politically motivated funding
12. For which social policy categories do data exist to assess state spending?
    1. Education
    2. Health
    3. Social protection
    4. Both A and B
    5. All of the above
13. How much of their GDP, on average, do developing states spend on social protection?
    1. 1 per cent
    2. 2 per cent
    3. 3 per cent
    4. 4 per cent
    5. 5 per cent
14. As developing states become richer, how do their spending patterns on social policy shift?
    1. Increased spending in absolute terms but decreased spending in relative terms
    2. Decreased spending in absolute terms but increased spending in relative terms
    3. Increased spending in absolute and relative terms
    4. Decreased spending in absolute and relative terms
    5. There is no strong correlation between rising wealth and spending on social policy.
15. What are the primary means for governments in low-income countries to raise resources?
    1. Indirect taxes
    2. Personal income tax
    3. Taxes on natural resources
    4. Both A and C
    5. All of the above
16. What is a constant factor in the form and function of social policy?
    1. Politics
    2. Social change
    3. Economic change
    4. Urbanization
    5. Industrialization
17. Historically, what two issues have motivated public policy in rural areas?
    1. Poor relief and temporary aid for famines or droughts
    2. Promotion of traditional safety nets for rural populations and migrant workers
    3. Increased political mobilization and education
    4. Disease prevention and hygiene programs
    5. Medical services and infrastructure development
18. What social service providers seek to generate both a financial return and provide a social good?
    1. Public institutions
    2. Private health care providers
    3. Co-operative organizations
    4. Social enterprises
    5. Charitable organizations
19. Which actors are involved in social policy implementation in both developing and richer countries?
    1. Not-for-profit organizations
    2. NGOs
    3. Private actors
    4. Public actors
    5. All of the above
20. In systems of universal care, services are provided by whom?
    1. Private service providers
    2. Public institutions
    3. Charitable organizations
    4. Independent donors
    5. NGOs
21. According to Gøsta Esping-Andersen, what type of social policy regime has a strong bias toward targeting of social assistance and a narrow definition of both risk and state responsibility?
    1. Universalistic
    2. Corporatist
    3. Liberal
    4. Conservative
    5. Revisionist
22. What process undid many of the gains made in the provision of social policy following decolonization?
    1. The creation of the IMF and World Bank
    2. Structural adjustment
    3. The increasing role of NGOs in the global south
    4. Infrastructure loans
    5. Population growth
23. What is the purpose of “targeting” in policy development?
    1. To focus government resources on areas which will generate the most return
    2. To use a geographic approach to policy implementation
    3. To ensure the most in need receive benefits
    4. To build up basic services
    5. To find synergy between industry and public policy
24. Which of the following is a substantive critique of targeting?
    1. It is vulnerable to external manipulation.
    2. It may create tensions between recipients and donors.
    3. It increases the size of government.
    4. It leads to corruption.
    5. It undermines universal approaches to social policy.
25. Which type of social policy is most disputed?
    1. Universal health care
    2. Targeted spending
    3. Affirmative action
    4. Urban infrastructure spending
    5. Direct taxation

1. What kinds of groups focus on the intrinsic arguments to inequality?
   1. Civil rights groups and feminist movements
   2. Pro-apartheid groups
   3. Anti-feminists
   4. Pro-life groups
   5. Governments
2. Why is inequality important from an instrumental point of view?
   1. It is intrinsically unfair
   2. European countries are forced to do more in redistributing income in developing countries
   3. It can have negative economic or political effects
   4. Women are expected to do all the household work
   5. Women lack access to productive opportunities and gender gaps in education
3. Why do some economists think that inequality is useful?
   1. Inequalities can have an impact on saving and spending patterns
   2. A degree of inequality produces a lack of economic incentives
   3. Overall economic growth can reduce gender gaps in education
   4. Certain forms of inequality do not reduce individuals’ or groups’ chances to fully contribute to the economy
   5. A degree of inequality produces economic incentives
4. How can inequality have an impact on voting?
   1. Rich people tend to save more and spend less of their total income during elections
   2. It can lead to protests
   3. Higher inequality leads to increased pressure to redistribute income, affecting voting behaviour
   4. Countries marked by more gender equality are more competitive and have better voting rates
   5. There is generally less consensus about the moral case for equality of outcomes
5. Where has COVID-19 had a major impact?
   1. On vulnerable groups
   2. Migrants
   3. People working and living in crowded conditions
   4. Front-line workers
   5. All of the above
6. In October 2020, how much did the World Bank estimate that the GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa would decline?
   1. 1 per cent
   2. 5 per cent
   3. 7 per cent
   4. 2 per cent
   5. 3 per cent
7. How is extreme poverty defined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
   1. Living on less than US$5.90 per day
   2. Living on less than US$4.90 per day
   3. Living on less than US$3.90 per day
   4. Living on less than US$2.90 per day
   5. Living on less than US$1.90 per day
8. What are the two main ways to measure inequality?
   1. A base line and outcome
   2. Outcome and opportunity
   3. A base line and opportunity
   4. The Gini coefficient and the SDGs
   5. The Gini coefficient and income share
9. Which countries are the most inequal in the world?
   1. Mexico and Denmark
   2. Colombia and Denmark
   3. Mexico and Colombia
   4. Denmark and India
   5. India and Colombia
10. Why is it so difficult to calculate income in poorer countries?
    1. only a part of what is produced and consumed is monetized
    2. most of what is produced in brought to a market
    3. households are taken as measurements
    4. measurements focused on consumption
    5. their population live under $2.90 per day

True or False Questions

Addressing inequality requires a broader set of policies than addressing poverty.

The Gini coefficient is the most commonly used measure of poverty.

In both rich and developing countries, income can be accurately measured.

A household’s income does not predict the risk of falling into poverty.

Poverty is synonymous with inequality.

For many people, equality of opportunity is more important than equality of outcome.

The World Values Survey is conducted by the World Bank to assess perception of its policies.

Gender inequality is the most common form inequality across societies.

A key aspect of gender inequality is women’s role in the “care economy.”

Inequality is important have negative economic and political effects.

Social policy is a narrower field of inquiry then poverty alleviation.

There are no data on the three primary sectors of social policy: education, health, and social protection.

Many rich countries spend more than 20 per cent of their GDP on social protection.

In high-income countries, a large share of revenues comes from indirect taxes.

To understand the impact of social policy on inequality, it is important to look at spending and taxation.

Historically, public policies for rural areas were limited to poor relief and for famine/droughts.

In aid-dependent countries, foreign help creates space for policy innovation.

Governments have a key role in the regulation of social policy.

A well-designed social safety net ensures that people are protected during crises.

Democratic processes can help ensure proper management of public resources.

In Latin America and East Asia, corporatism has helped to shape public policies.

Pension plans are part of traditional social security programs.

Structural adjustment programs stressed the provision of social services.

A weakness of affirmative action is that the benefits may only go to a small subset of the intended group.

Good social policy analysis is also political analysis.

South Africa’s group inequalities are uniquely rooted in colonial history and do not compare to other examples.

Different from South Africa, Latin American countries’ social group differences do not have colonial origins.

India’s social group differences were reinforced by colonialism.

“Adivasi” groups do not suffer from deeper poverty.

Inequalities between religious groups are the most common form of inequality across societies.

In federally organized countries, states or provinces have a key role in setting social policies.

A common opinion about providing people with benefits is that it will increase their incentive to work.

In the late 1990s, the World Bank introduced “social funds”.

There are no simple measures of universalism.

Social policy analysis needs to understand the political motivations and constituencies and the different social policy approaches that emerge from it.

Short Answer Questions

1. How is inequality different from poverty?
2. What is the Gini coefficient?
3. How is income measured in agricultural families in poorer countries?
4. How do inequality measures compare to poverty measures?
5. What two things can inequality in opportunity relate to?
6. What does the World Values Survey tell us about attitudes towards inequality?
7. What are the three primary socio-economic boundaries in India?
8. What are the instrumental reasons that make addressing inequality important?
9. What is social policy?
10. What does a high share of private spending on health care indicate?
11. How does urbanization generate new public policy?
12. Why should spending on social policy be seen as an investment?
13. How does democratic government influence public policy creation?
14. How can the literature on corporatism make sense of public policy in Latin American and South East Asia?
15. What is social security and why are do so few people have access to it in the developing world?
16. What are social funds?
17. What are the two methods of targeting social policy?
18. How do citizen’s rights to social policy in OECD countries differ from developing countries?
19. How does government spending and taxation jointly explain the impact of social policy on inequality?
20. What role has the international community played in the provision of social policy in developing states?
21. How is the measurement based on income shares done? How does it reflect inequality?
22. What are some of the complications of measuring income?
23. Do more unequal countries have more poor people? Why or why not?
24. What are the differences between inequality of opportunity and inequality of outcome?

Essay Questions

1. What are the two ways to define inequality and what is the significance of the differences between them?
2. How do policies meant to address poverty compare to policies meant to address inequality?
3. How does social policy emerge?
4. Are there any differences between inequality to individuals or inequality to groups? Give examples and compare them.
5. How is gender inequality considered the most common form of inequality? How does it compare to other group inequalities?