QUIZ QUESTIONS (for final)

Question 1

According to the chapter, Africa suffers extreme political turmoil which can occasionally be seen reflected in tense BRICS relations. South Africa has the most active sets of interventions underway, but China´s placement of troops in Sudan reflected the overlap among commercial and military interests.

Answer 1

TRUE

Question 2

According to the chapter, it is important to notice also that the BRICS in Africa are supporting democratic regimes unlike political leaders from US, UK and France.

Answer 2

FALSE

Question 3

The December 2015 Paris Agreement confirmed Africa’s victimization by climate change, with probably 200 million additional African deaths this century due to extreme weather, droughts and increased temperatures. According to the chapter, the responsible for a deal with weak emissions cut commitments and no legal accountability for violations were the wealthy countries and not the BRICS.

Answer 3

FALSE

Question 4

About Africa, the United Nations Economic Commission on Africa, UNEC, showed that in 2013, $319 billion were transferred illicitly from Africa, with the most theft in metals $84 billion, oil $79 billion, natural gas $34 billion, minerals $33 billion. In addition to this illicit outflow, there where licit flows in the form of dividend expatriation that created extreme balance of payments deficit in many countries.

Answer 4

TRUE

Question 5

Africa has recently witnessed a dramatic increase in infrastructure project development. It is a given that BRICS would be interested in any infrastructure project since they would benefit most from the access to Africa´s raw materials.

Answer 5

TRUE

Question 6

For the Brazilian economist Ruy Mauro Marini, the three key features of a “sub imperial society” were regional economic extraction, the export of capital associated with imperialist politics and internal corporate monopolization.

Answer 6

TRUE

Question 7

The concept of “Sub-imperialism” is also used to describe the relation that the BRICS have with other African countries by using their economic and political power to influence them. According to the chapter, this concept does not apply to the relationship among South Africa and other African countries.

Answer 7

FALSE

Question 8

With respect to the BRICS and Africa, according to the reading, the BRICS are a more malignant force within a general framework of neoliberal extractivism, amplifying the already unequal development so damaging to Africa.

Answer 8

TRUE

Question 9

According to the chapter, the most important reasons for Africa’s position in the world economy are not the fault of the BRICS but of the West. The BRICS are amplifying pre-existing problems instead of offering alternatives.

Answer 9

TRUE

Question 10

According to the chapter, the big issue of our times is whether China ends up inside of Western capitalism system or challenging it. The chapter also considers that under Xi Jinping, the tendency of talking left while walking right will not continue.

Answer 10

FALSE

Question 11

In the analysis of Southeast Asia, the author indicates that one of the characteristics of the world market capitalism is “amplified unevenness”.

Answer 11

TRUE

Question 12

In the analysis of Southeast Asia, the author indicates that one of the characteristics of the world market capitalism is “hyper-competition”.

Answer 12

TRUE

Question 13

In “plan rational” countries, as Japan and South Korea, the state through pilot agencies staffed with meritocratic bureaucrats was seen as playing a central role in fostering, first, import substitution industrialization (ISI) and, later, export oriented industrialization (EOI).

Answer 13

TRUE

Question 14

In capitalist Southeast Asia, the developmentalism was often less apparent than in Japan and South Korea.

Answer 14

TRUE

Question 15

The use of “dirigiste policies” could be seen in countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, all of which enjoyed reputations as fast growing “developing countries” up until the 1997–1998 crisis.

Answer 15

TRUE

Question 16

In Indonesia’s postcolonial economic history, it was the private sector in the three decades from 1960 to the middle 1980s the one that embarked on an ambitious program to construct an autonomous industrial base.

Answer 16

FALSE

Question 17

In the case of Malaysia, a period of laissez faire capitalism owing much to the continuity of dominant colonial class interests gave way to neoliberal policies in an effort to face increasing social asymmetries.

Answer 17

FALSE

Question 18

According to the chapter, the last decade and a half, many countries in Southeast Asia, saw increasing per capita incomes, reductions in absolute poverty and the expansion of consumption, along with the broader extension of access to finance.

Answer 18

TRUE

Question 19

According to the chapter, the last decade and a half, many countries in South East Asia faced also increasing inequality, further elite gain capture, massive damage to the environment and natural resources and rising governmental concerns over “middle income traps”.

Answer 19

TRUE

Question 20

Southeast Asian countries do not feel threatened by China in its cheap labor force comparative advantages.

Answer 20

FALSE

Question 21

Turkey. It was founded in 1923 from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire. The country followed a statism until 1950, with closed economy model and under one-party government. This was the highest growth period in Turkish history, especially in the industrial sector.

Answer 21

TRUE

Question 22

Turkey. After 1950 the country moved to a transition to democracy. In the 1960s after a military coup, Turkey’s official development strategy became import substitution industrialization (ISI), with state intervention and protectionism.

Answer 22

TRUE

Question 23

Turkey. After 1971 the ISI strategy was adjusted more in favor of the capitalist groups. In the 1980s the Turkish military intervened again and reinforced the statist model.

Answer 23

FALSE

Question 24

Turkey. The purpose of the first phase of the neoliberal project was to change the direction of the Turkish economy from an inward-oriented ISI to a free-market based system. This phase involved the implementation of the “Washington Consensus” policies, with an agenda of neoliberal economic reforms and wide support of the IMF, World Bank, and OECD.

Answer 24

TRUE

Question 25

Turkey. The first phase of neoliberalism, the liberalization of the economy, could only be partially completed due to popular pressures and big government deficits that caused high debt and chronic inflation.

Answer 25

TRUE

Question 26

Turkey. In relationship with the socio-economic impact of the neoliberal project and political support for the AKP party, due to the several changes introduced in the labor law, the AKP period saw a fast expansion of workers’ rights in Turkey.

Answer 26

FALSE

Question 27

Turkey. According to the reading, during the 1980-2015 period, Turkey has become a peripheral actor in the global market. The country has experienced high growth rates in the 2000s but the economy is fragile and dependent on short-term foreign capital, which is unsustainable.

Answer 27

TRUE

Question 28

Turkey. According to the reading, from the review of the current situation of the Turkish economy it is possible to sustain that Turkey is not a good model for advanced economies, but it is a good model to follow for other emerging countries.

Answer 28

FALSE

Question 29

Turkey. According to the reading, the new purchasing power, conferred by credit, as well as the new social policies implemented by the AKP, have strengthened the position of the authoritarian party, increasing its political popularity.

Answer 29

TRUE

Question 30

Turkey. According to the reading, debt of consumers has increased in Turkey but only 12% of the Turkish population has an income below their consumption level.

Answer 30

FALSE

Question 31

Egypt &Tunisia. After decades of social tensions, a series of uprisings surged in the Arab world in the winter of 2010–2011. In Tunisia, the trigger for mass protests was the immolation of 26-year-old Mohammed Bouazizi, on December 17, 2010. The case of Bouazizi reveals a lot about the higher level of anxieties and insecurities experienced by the younger generation in the Middle East and North Africa.

Answer 31

TRUE

Question 32

Egypt &Tunisia. After decades of social tensions, a series of uprisings surged in the Arab world in the winter of 2010–2011. In Tunisia, the trigger for mass protests was the immolation of 26-year old Mohammed Bouazizi, on December 17, 2010. The protests were massive but failed to remove Ben Ali’s regime from power until several years later.

Answer 32

FALSE

Question 33

Egypt &Tunisia. In Egypt, since 1998, strikes and protests had been occurring with increasing frequency in various parts of the country, with estimates indicating that between 1998 and 2010, around 3,500 strikes, protests and occupations took place across Egypt. Nevertheless, one of the few positive outcomes of the neoliberal experiment was the reduction of the unemployment levels.

Answer 33

FALSE

Question 34

Egypt &Tunisia. Inspired by mass protests in Tunisia, millions of Egyptians ousted President Mubarak on January 25, 2011.

Answer 34

TRUE

Question 35

Egypt &Tunisia. Like Tunisia, Egypt had experienced rising levels of social tension and income inequality that alienated many Egyptians from the ruling class.

Answer 35

TRUE

Question 36

Egypt &Tunisia. Egyptians began to mobilize around issues of social justice since the early 2000s, culminating in the outcry for bread, freedom, social justice and human dignity during the revolutionary movement in 2011.

Answer 36

TRUE

Question 37

Egypt &Tunisia. In both Tunisia and Egypt workers, students and activists initiated the uprisings and brought down the regimes, however they were marginalized from the political process, having little room to affect legislative change.

Answer 37

TRUE

Question 38

Egypt &Tunisia.In both Tunisia and Egypt new political parties and social movements organized around social justice and democracy.

Answer 38

TRUE

Question 39

Egypt &Tunisia. The five years following the uprisings witnessed a series of uneven reforms in both countries and the context of political instability and popular discontent generated a stop in the implementation of the neoliberal policy paradigm.

Answer 39

FALSE

Question 40

Egypt &Tunisia.The five years following the uprisings witnessed a series of uneven reforms in both countries. Initially, governments expressed a willingness to respond to the public’s calls for social justice by increasing public expenditure and controlling prices, but didn´t last long.

Answer 40

TRUE