Chp 6 Practice Q's

Question 1

Despite inflation and other factors, why has income in Canada increased?

a) here are more workers.
b) Workers are more productive.
c) Workers are more educated.
d) Workers have a better work ethic

Answer 1

b) Workers are more productive.

Question 2

What is the effect of taxes and government transfers on income inequality in Canada?

a) They decrease incomes of the poor.
b) They increase incomes of the rich.
c) They make inequality greater.
d) They make inequality lower.

Answer 2

d) They make inequality lower.

Question 3

According to the text, in 2016 the wealth of the 87 richest Canadians is equal to which of the following?

a) about one-quarter of the country’s population
b) more than one-third of the country’s population
c) more than one-half of the country’s population
d) approximately two-third of the country’s population

Answer 3

b) more than one-third of the country’s population

Question 4

Mohammad visits his bank branch to meet with an adviser about his investments, salary, and mortgage. His adviser commends him for having a large investment portfolio, owning his own home, and having a zero balance on his credit cards. What is his adviser referring to?

a) wealth
b) income
c) wealth plus income
d) wealth minus income

Answer 4

a) wealth

Question 5

Which province has the lowest income inequality in Canada?

a) Ontario
b) Québec
c) Prince Edward Island
d) Alberta

Answer 5

c) Prince Edward Island

Question 6

Which term is conceptually most similar to “social networks”?

a) cultural capital
b) social capital
c) subordinate culture
d) social culture

Answer 6

b) social capital

Question 7

What is the main disagreement regarding the definition of poverty?

a) whether to base it on consumption or debt
b) whether to define it in absolute or abstract terms
c) whether to define it in absolute or relative terms
d) whether to base it on income or socioeconomic status

Answer 7

c) whether to define it in absolute or relative terms

Question 8

Which statement reflects one of the stereotypes about the poor outlined in the text?

a) People are poor because they don’t want to work.
b) Low minimum wage ensures low income and poverty.
c) Once established in Canada, immigrants have lower poverty rates than people born in Canada.
d) Most people with a low income in a given year require more than two years to escape poverty.

Answer 8

a) People are poor because they don’t want to work.

Question 9

What effect does Canada’s progressive tax system, which is used to reduce social inequalities, have on poverty?

a) It has done little to erode poverty.
b) It has contributed to a slow and steady decline in Canadian poverty rates.
c) It has ensured that any social inequalities are the responsibility of the poor.
d) It has resulted in the upper classes being extremely penalized.

Answer 9

a) It has done little to erode poverty.

Question 10

Which of the following refers to the argument that women are more likely than men to be low-income earners and that the low-income gap between women and men is growing?

a) feminization of poverty
b) gender earnings gap
c) hostile income environment
d) gender-income poverty gap

Answer 10

a) feminization of poverty

Question 11

According to Marx, what is determined by a person’s relationship to the means of production?

a) obedience
b) communism
c) professionalism
d) class

Answer 11

d) class

Question 12

According to Davis and Moore, a person’s position in the status hierarchy is based on the effort and ability of the individual—if the job is more important, then that person makes more money. Which theoretical perspective did Davis and Moore endorse?

a) positivist theory of stratification
b) left realist theory of stratification
c) functional theory of stratification
d) conflict theory of stratification

Answer 12

c) functional theory of stratification

Question 13

The factory workers were working long hours for very little pay, although they knew that the company was making record-breaking profits. When the management announced that a reduction in pay was necessary to keep the factory open, the workers were so angry that they staged a protest and refused to let anyone into the building. Whose social theory was reflected in this protest?

a) Davis and Moore
b) Weber
c) Marx
d) Rostow

Answer 13

c) Marx

Question 14

Sheena purchased a clothing factory and spent her savings on upgrading the sewing machines and buying top-quality cloth to make high-fashion clothing. What would Marx say she invested in?

a) bourgeoisie class
b) means of production
c) proletariat mode of ownership
d) mode of production

Answer 14

b) means of production

Question 15

Julia’s mother is a lawyer and her father is a brain surgeon. They live in a large house that backs onto the country club and is located near Julia’s private school. Julia is a member of the soccer team, takes piano lessons on Tuesday’s, and has joined the debate club. What would Weber argue is Julia’s biggest advantage in life?

a) status
b) class
c) location
d) stratification

Answer 15

b) class

Question 16

What did Davis and Moore propose regarding inequality in a society?

a) Inequality will diminish when more people are motivated to accept their status.
b) Inequality is detrimental to a society.
c) Smaller rewards at the top will minimize inequality.
d) Inequality is necessary and functional.

Answer 16

d) Inequality is necessary and functional.

Question 17

Which statement best describes an achievement-based stratification system?

a) The allocation of rank is dependent upon the features that a person is born with.
b) The allocation of rank is dependent upon the features that a person accomplishes.
c) The allocation of rank depends entirely upon a caste system.
d) The allocation of rank is dependent upon the family’s station in life.

Answer 17

b) The allocation of rank is dependent upon the features that a person accomplishes.

Question 18

Even though she was born the daughter of a grocer, Margaret Thatcher went on to become the prime minister of England. When describing this achievement, what could you say about the British society?

a) It allows for exchange mobility.
b) It has a considerable degree of social mobility.
c) It promotes horizontal mobility.
d) It demonstrates an acceptance of circulatory mobility

Answer 18

b) It has a considerable degree of social mobility.

Question 19

Denny was born into a poor family but, through hard work, gets a law degree from a prestigious law school while waiting on tables in the cafeteria where his classmates eat. He goes on to become a first-rate lawyer and then a member of parliament. Which term would sociologists use to describe his upward career path?

a) meritocratic mobility
b) social promotion
c) equal opportunity
d) social mobility

Answer 19

d) social mobility

Question 20

Lisa was describing her experiences in a society where the citizens were segregated according to their language, culture, and economics, with those falling at the lower end of the social stratification being oppressed and denied any opportunity for upward mobility. Which term best characterizes this type of society?

a) open
b) closed
c) mixed
d) neutral

Answer 20

b) closed

Question 21

Jari never finished high school and works as a truck driver. His son, Erikki, is going to university and will be a dentist by the end of the semester. Erikki is an example of which kind of occupational mobility?

a) intergenerational mobility
b) intragenerational mobility
c) education-based mobility
d) status-based mobility

Answer 21

a) intergenerational mobility

Question 22

Which statement best describes Canadians’ attitudes toward social inequality?

a) They are consistently collectivistic in their value system.
b) They are supportive of the government’s efforts with job creation programs.
c) They are committed to the government’s attempts to play an active role in eliminating poverty.
d) They feel that income differences should not be reduced through increased taxation.

Answer 22

d) They feel that income differences should not be reduced through increased taxation.

Question 23

In fiscal year 2020–2021, how much of federal government spending was related to the COVID-19 pandemic?

a) approximately one-quarter of a billion dollars
b) approximately 72 billion dollars
c) approximately one-quarter of a trillion dollars
d) approximately 72 percent of total government revenue

Answer 23

c) approximately one-quarter of a trillion dollars

Question 24

What do statistics from around the world indicate about global inequality?

a) Poverty is found mainly in the northern hemisphere.
b) Adjusting spending habits in wealthy countries wouldn’t be enough to provide basic health and nutrition for everyone in the world.
c) The average income of citizens in highly industrialized countries is much greater than that of citizens in developing countries.
d) The income gap between wealthy and poor nations has been stable over the last few decades.

Answer 24

c) The average income of citizens in highly industrialized countries is much greater than that of citizens in developing countries.

Question 25

Why is geopolitical position an important factor in the development of semiperipheral countries?

a) Foreign funds are injected into the economy by political allies.
b) It signals to former colonizers that the former colony can be economically independent.
c) Geopolitical position is closely tied to social programs.
d) Social stratification is determined by foreign investment

Answer 25

a) Foreign funds are injected into the economy by political allies.

Question 26

What are the four main ways that semiperipheral countries differ from peripheral countries?

a) substantial foreign investment, support for authoritarian governments, mounting debt, and economic development
b) type of colonialism, state policy, social structure, and geopolitical position
c) state policy, mounting debt, geopolitical location, and resource access
d) colonial development, historical structures, foreign investment, and natural resources

Answer 26

b) type of colonialism, state policy, social structure, and geopolitical position

Question 27

Which type of countries are the world’s major sources of capital and technology?

a) core
b) semiperipheral
c) colonial
d) modern

Answer 27

a) core

Question 28

Country A receives millions of dollars, mostly to build infrastructure like roads, from Country B. Country B is Country A’s largest trading partner. Country B is most interested in Country A’s abundant natural resources, like oil and minerals. According to dependency theorists, which method of gaining political control over another country is this example most representative of?
a) geopolitical position
b) support for authoritarian governments
c) mounting debt
d) substantial foreign investment

Answer 28

d) substantial foreign investment

Question 29

According to modernization theorists, global inequality is a result of which of the following?

a) an excess of workers in rich countries
b) the dysfunctional characteristics of poor societies
c) the crushing debt load in societies worldwide
d) the long-lasting effects of colonization

Answer 29

b) the dysfunctional characteristics of poor societies

Question 30

eoyoung and her cousin are discussing why so many poor countries continue to stay in a state of poverty. Seoyoung’s cousin believes that poor countries have not been innovative enough and should adopt the ways of industrialized nations. Seoyoung recognizes this kind of argument from her sociology class. Which theory is Seoyoung’s cousin using?

a) modernization
b) dependency
c) conflict
d) stratification

Answer 30

a) modernization