Power Flashcards
Dante is a young urban professional working for a tech startup in San Francisco. He receives a decent salary, but also receives generous health insurance, retirement, and family leave policies. We would say that Dante is part of the ____.
primary labor market
The economy is typically divided into three sectors. Often simply called the “manufacturing” sector, the ____ sector involves taking raw materials and transforming them into finished products.
secondary/industrial
Which of the following is NOT true about the social impacts of the Industrial Revolution?
Economic inequality fell sharply as more goods became available to consumers
The ____ is the social institution that organizes production, consumption, and trade of goods in a society.
economy
When economists refer to the “invisible hand,” they’re referring to Adam Smith’s argument that ____.
if left alone, consumers in a capitalist economy would regulate the market themselves by selecting goods and services they value
Capitalism is characterized by ____.
private ownership and open competition
Socialism is characterized by ____.
collective ownership of the means of production, with a emphasis on meeting everyone’s basic needs rather than generating wealth
Economists believe that at least some level of government regulation is necessary in capitalism in order to prevent market failures. (T/F)
true
The key development in the emergence of the modern economy was ____.
Industrial Revolution
The largest portion of the US economy today is the ____ sector.
tertiary/service
Which of the following is NOT one of the key questions decided by economic systems?
The level of taxes on goods and services
Individual households belong to the resource market because ____.
they sell their labor to businesses
Which of the following statements is NOT true about “mixed” market economies?
invisible hand of the market guarantees efficiency through competition.
In the “circular flow” economic model, ____
businesses sell goods and services to households and households sell their labor to businesses
Which of the following is NOT a way in which our government intervenes in the market economy?
Setting limits on total profits businesses are allowed to declare in any fiscal year.
An economy that combines capitalism with some areas of government control and regulation is called a(n) ____ economy.
mixed
An economy in which government strictly controls all aspects of production is called a(n) ____ economy
planned
The key distinguishing feature of different economic systems is ____.
who owns and controls the factors of production
Political economists agree that there are a number of ways in which governments structure markets. In the 1930s and 1940s, it wasn’t cost effective to provide electricity to many parts of rural America. During the New Deal, the government stepped in and built electric power through projects like the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). This illustrates which of the ways in which the US government structures the market economy?
providing public goods
Political economists agree that there are a number of ways in which governments structure markets. When a company hires an employee in the US, the boss can assume that the employee has some basic skills (reading, math, etc.) but also knows how to show up on time and follow directions. Companies don’t have to completely train their employees “from scratch.” This illustrates which of the ways in which the US government structures the market economy?
creating labor force
Political economists agree that there are a number of ways in which governments structure markets. The factory in town used to dump its waste into the river, but local residents began to complain about its effect on their health. The factory wasn’t going to spend more money on waste treatment if it didn’t have to, so the state government passed environmental regulations that made it illegal to dump industrial waste into the river. This illustrates which of the ways in which the US government structures the market economy?
Ameliorating externalities
Political economists agree that there are a number of ways in which governments structures markets. In a perfect free market, only the laws of supply and demand would determine what is sold on the market. But many US states and localities have “blue laws” that outlaw or restrict the sale of alcohol. This illustrates which of the ways in which the US government structures markets?
governing rules of exchange
Political economists agree that there are a number of ways in which governments structure markets. In the US, mergers between large companies need to be approved by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. This illustrates which of the ways in which the US government structures the market economy?
promoting competition
Political economists agree that there are a number of ways in which governments structure markets. When you buy gasoline at the pump, you are confident that a gallon of gas at one gas station will be equal in volume to a gallon of gas at the gas station across town. This illustrates which of the ways in which the US government structures the market economy?
setting market standards
Political economists agree that there are a number of ways in which governments structure markets. There’s an old saying that “possession is nine tenths the law”. But if you don’t pay rent, your landlord can call the sheriff to evict you. This illustrates which of the ways in which the US government structures the market economy?
defining rules of property
The rise of online shopping is correlated with what other trends?
- Spending on electronics has increased
- Spending on clothing has increased
- The average size of American homes has increased
- We are less likely to return unwanted items
The model of an economic “virtuous economic cycle” in which rising wages led to increased spending and eventually greater production suggests that ____ are the true “job creators” in a capitalist economy.
consumers
Bernard Mandeville’s 1723 essay “The Fable of the Bees” argued that _____ strengthened a country’s economy.
shopping for pleasure
Consumer goods like clothing, electronics, and furniture today are ____.
- increasingly unnecessary, impulse buys
- cheaper than before
- often transported across long distances
For most of human history, most people had very few material possessions. (T/F)
true
Which of the following is true about Europe in the early 1700s?
For most people, combs, mirrors, and underwear were small luxuries
When economists describe air pollution as a “market failure” they mean that ____.
we all want clean air, but existing market incentives work against that demand
The concept of “the tragedy of the commons” represents ____.
a situation in which maximizing individual self-interest is contrary to the collective good
Like other aspects of the economy, the amount of pollution produced is fundamentally driven by ____.
the choices we make as consumers in what we demand from markets
The discussion of environmental economics emphasizes that economics is fundamentally about ____.
choices we make
Which of the following are ways that government could intervene to reduce pollution?
- Create “permit markets” by setting limits on how much firms can pollute, but allowing them to buy/sell pollution permits
- Provide price incentives to encourage environment-friendly choices (with taxes and/or subsidies)
- Set specific rules about how much specific industries can pollute
- Directly subsidizing specific technologies or industries
If the government were to set up a “permit market” for air pollution, which of the following would be true?
- companies that exceeded pollution limits could buy permits (or “pollution credits”) from other companies
- companies that were below their pollution limits could sell permits (or “pollution credits”) to other companies
One key lesson from the study of “happiness economics” is that ____.
where we sit in terms of social class (where we fit in the economy) effects our emotional well-being
The “reference-income hypothesis” suggests that ____.
our happiness seems to depend primarily on how we compare to our neighbors (those around us)
over time, they sometimes skipped and did other things, instead. They hadn’t been to their local hangout for several weeks, but when they heard that the place would no longer offer free appetizers during happy hour they were upset. This illustrates the concept of ____.
the “hedonic treadmill”
According to research, “peak happiness” seems to occur at what income?
At around $82,000
The principle of diminishing returns helps explain why ____.
having $10 million does not make you much happier than someone with only $1 million
One key lesson from the study of “happiness economics” is that ____.
while income and wealth matters, social status is often more important
Which of the following economic factors affect individual happiness?
- Long commutes have a negative effect on happiness
- Working long hours has a negative effect on happiness
- Unemployment has a negative effect on happiness
Power is ____.
the ability to make others do what you want them to do
In the pluralist model of politics, power is ____.
widely distributed throughout a stable society
The quote “If you’re not taking action, you’re being acted upon” illustrates which of the three “laws” of power?
Power is never static
The power elite theory states that power is ____.
concentrated in a small number of people who control the major institutions of the state
The political spectrum is the broad array of beliefs and ideas that make up the politics of a society. People identified with mainstream”right” (or “conservative”) positions tend to prefer ____ forms of authority.
traditional
The political spectrum is the broad array of beliefs and ideas that make up the politics of a society. People identified with mainstream”left” (or “liberal”) positions tend to prefer economic policies that ____.
favor some government intervention in the economy to help guarantee equality of outcomes
Sociologists who study politics, focus their study on ____.
the distribution of power and resources in a society
