Module 1-9 Flashcards
What are the characteristics of developing countries??
high uncertainty with political regimes, low state capacity, low economic development, less transparency
What is state capacity?
The degree to which a country can effectively carry out its responsibilities.
What is the connection between corruption & development?
Lack of efficiency and economic capacity often leads to things like corruption and less funding for policy formulation and evaluation, less resources, poorly paid = incentive for bribes
What is the meaning of “welfare state” and how it differs from the common American use of the term?
Policies that protect citizens against the negative effects of the free market are often referred to as the welfare state. America’s term is negative with our means-tested form, society assumes you’re lazy or poor.
Define “means-tested” and how it relates to one model of the welfare state.
Means testing is a prerequisite to receiving aid in a liberal welfare state, it requires them to show how they have a need for these benefits. Liberal welfare states are more concerned about preserving individual autonomy than reducing poverty or inequality, which is why it is means tested. It isn’t concerned with helping out everyone in the system like the Social Democratic welfare state does
What is Bolsa Familia, how is it used & how does it work?
Bolsa Familia is a means tested social welfare program located in Brazil. Conditional cash transfer focused on health and education towards younger children. Money is sent to families on the condition that the children attend school
Define Conditional Cash Transfer
programs that require a particular beneficial behavior for cash grants. Such as children’s school attendance
Define Unconditional Cash Transfer
providing cash without any conditions
Define “public good”
A good that is once produced, everyone benefits from it
Describe family policy in Sweden & Germany in brief, contrasting with the U.S.
Sweden: paid parental leave (all parents receive paid leave), included daddy leave which was created for the father to be in child’s life, municipality funded public child care up to 7yrs
Germany: mandatory parental leave, public child care dependent on area and child, both sweden and germany receive a refundable tax credit per year per child
US: Neither parental leave guaranteed, no tax credit or guaranteed child care
What is the “demographic dividend” and how does this relate to population control & economic growth?
The demographic dividend is the economic growth potential that can result from a shift in population age. It related to population control because the demographic dividend has an effect on the economy as the population is aging out of the work force causing unemployment to increase
What is the 4th stage of demographic dividend?
Stage at which the population includes large numbers of the elderly
Compare fertility rates in the developed and developing world. How are they different?
Fertility rates in the developing world are much higher than in the developing world. This is because of the lack of contraceptives/education on contraceptives. There are some LDCs where this isn’t an issue anymore but most of the time it’s because they aren’t using them and when they want to, their partners do not listen to them.
Gender gap in education → Lack of women/girls in education which leads to the lack of women in the workforce.
Cultural/religious norms- people in LDCs genuinely want more children than westerners because having more children is also seen as an opportunity for more wealth for agricultural families (ex: transferring some chores onto the child → takes load off parents)
How has Europe reformed its pension system? Why did these changes occur?
When Europe reformed it became more like the US. The population became more dependent on private pensions. Original system used to be that all retired individuals received the same basic income, no emphasis on private savings. These changes occurred because they realized that being “too generous” is too expensive, there was slower economic growth & an aging population. Reform included an increase in retirement age, less public pensions and a more private system.
Germany → benefits for future retirees are reduced, and they encourage private savings with tax policy
Sweden → means tested, notional, payment determined “as if”
Compare these reforms with the US system. Who learned from whom?
They learned from the US because their current systems resemble the United States and their social security system and workplace 401K system/voluntary individual accounts.
Looking at the U.S., Germany, and Sweden, how do the results of pension policy differ? How does this relate to the way in which pensions have been designed?
Sweden has a means tested program, their pension reflects how the economy is doing.
Both the US and Germany have a PAYGO system but still rely on a percent from the government.
While Germany and Sweden were forced to cut back on gov’t pension plans the US still has more Americans working over 65, more dependent on voluntary savings, and more elderly in poverty. Policies have changed more like the US because of competition from lower wage economies and globalization
What was the PISA shock in Germany? How did Germany respond?
PISA shock is when Germany received their scores from the OECD. Their score distribution was unequal and they reformed the education system to create a more problem based teaching
Japan is known for high levels of quality & equity. How is this achieved?
Japan’s high levels of quality and equity is achieved by most teachers going to poorer schools, teachers are hired by prefectures (regional gov’t). They are good at narrowing the gap between rich and poor students by assigning the strongest teachers to students/schools that need them the most
How did Finland change its education policy from the 1970s to the present?
In the 1970s, Finland was a poor country, most of their employment was in agriculture. They used education policy to catch up emphasizing “less is more,” assume all can achieve, value teachers, emphasis on special education, creativity and innovation
What is the “learning crisis” in the developing world? What factors contribute to this crisis?
Children in poor countries cannot get to school due to various barriers. Some factors that contribute to this crisis is that it is significantly more difficult for teachers to adequately teach students since their enrollment is low. In addition to low enrollment and adequate schooling, obtaining internet for students is also very difficult as little to no areas in the developing world have internet.
How has school enrollment changed over time in the developing world? How does this vary for girls and boys? What factors may still keep children out of school?
School enrollment has increased recently however boys are often favored to receive education over girls. Girls either aren’t enrolled in school at all or don’t go passed elementary education due to cultural norms, lack of facilities (bathrooms) to handle their period and period products, sexual assault and harassment on the walk to and from school
What are the strengths & weaknesses of education in China?
Strengths: high test scores, good teachers, high enrollment, high literacy rates
Weaknesses: high inequality, development gap due to Hukou and urbanization
