RI 3 (ch. 9-12) Flashcards
What is sustainable prosperity?
Practicing stewardship of the environment and resources for the future. Its goal is to balance environmental, social, and economic factors
What is the UN’s definition of sustainable development?
Development is sustainable when it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs?
GDP (gross domestic product)
Widely used to measure of the health of a country’s economy and the prosperity of its people. Averaged over the number of people in the country.
HDI (human development index)
Created by the UN development program to measure quality of life in UN member countries. Classifies countries as developed, developing, or underdeveloped based on three main categories:
1. longevity (measured by life expectancy at birth)
2. knowledge (measured by school environment and adult literacy)
3. standard of living (measured by GDP per person)
The United nations development program focuses on….?
Issues that need particular attention (eg. access to clean water)
GNH (Gross National Happiness)
Created by King Jigme Singye Wangchuk of Bhutan. It is based on Buddhist spiritual values rather than economic growth. The focus is on inner happiness and well-being of the people in a country (spiritual and material development).
Purpose:
- promote sustainable/equal social/economic development
- preserve and promote cultural values
- conserve natural environment
- establish good governance
GPI (genuine progress index)
Measures sustainability, well-being, and quality of life. It will include environmental and social assets, like volunteer work and time spent raising children. It is said to be more accurate than GDP
What is a subsidy?
A benefit or government incentive given to groups/individuals
Briefly explain the “subsidizing farmers” situation
- governments have had trouble cutting farm subsidies (grants that keep food prices low)
- farmers in developing countries can’t compare
- eventually abolished
What is the knowledge economy? Name some examples
Includes businesses and individuals who use research, education, new ideas, and information technologies for practical purposes. Usually those who create high-tech products for businesses. Includes: microsystem technologies, computer software, robotics, biotechnology, etc
What is privatization? Name an example. What do advocates say about it?
Privatization is selling a public service to a private company (service is no longer owned by the government). Eg. Japan privatized its government owned post office.
Advocates say:
- it lowers taxed
- the competition improves the quality of service and leads to lower prices
What is foreign investment? What can foreign investors do? It is risky?
The purchase of assets in one country by individuals, institutions, or governments in another country. Foreign investors can buy shares, set up new businesses, or invest money in the currency of another country. It can cause sudden and dangerous risks to a country’s economy.
What are the 8 UN Millennium Development Goals.
- eradicate extreme hunger/poverty
- gender universal primary education
- achieve gender equality and empower women
- reduce child mortality
- improve maternal health
- combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
- ensure environmental sustainability
- develop a global partnership for development
What is global climate change?
Small but steady changes in average temperature around the world
What is outsourcing?
Reducing costs by using suppliers of products and services in less developed parts of the world
Explain containerization.
The transporting of goods in standard-sized shipping containers. They are shipped along clearly defined routes.
What is trade liberalization?
Reducing trade barriers so that goods and services can move around the world easily.
What is free trade?
Countries agreeing to eliminate tariffs and taxes on goods and services traded between them.
Describe the WTO (world trade organization). What must it come to to make an agreement?
- increases international trade
- lowers trade barriers and makes trade more predictable
- ensures that trade agreements are followed
- settles disputes between governments
- conducts negotiations
- member countries must abide by its rulings
- comes to a consensus (a general agreement)
- has the power to use sanctions to enforce decisions
What are sanctions?
Economic actions, such as a trade boycott
Briefly describe NAFTA (North American Free Tarde Agreement) (now CUSMA)
- world’s largest free trade area
- eliminated trade barriers
- has pros and cons that garner it mixed opinions
Briefly explain the European union.
- liberalized trade area in Europe
- goods, services, money, and people can move easily
- use the euro
increased trade liberalization = _____ transnationals
more
Talisman energy controversy
During the Sudan civil war, they were accused of supporting a government that was committing genocide
Was is e-commerce?
Electronic commerce
- eg. amazon
- restricted to those who live in developed countries
What is ecological footprint?
It describes the load people impose on nature. It represents the area of the Earth’s surface needed to sustain the resources you use and waste you create.
What is the resource gap?
The gap between the resources the earth can reasonably supply and what the people of the world now consume.
At a point, the earth won’t be able to sustain (_____________________________________) our actions.
provide the basic necessities needed to support life
What is sustainability?
The ability of the earth to provide the resources necessary to meet people’s needs
What is stewardship?
Accepting responsibility for ensuring that the earth’s resources remain sustainable.
What are flags of convenience (flagging out)? Name 3 reasons for it
When a ship is registered in a country other than that of its owner. Reasons:
- lower costs
- ease of registration
- weak environmental and labour laws
describe the downsides of shipbreaking
- one of the most dangerous jobs in the world
- lack of safety standards
- explosions and asbestos
- underpaid workers ($1.50-$2.50 USD a day)
- hazardous materials released
- occurs in countries like Bangladesh
describe the Kyoto protocol
- caused by the increased output of GHG emissions
- the goal was to reduce GHG emissions to 5.2 below 1990 levels by 2012
- 141 countries
- no longer exists
Describe the Paris Accord
- 195 countries
- goal: keep the global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial (preferably 1.5 degrees)
True or false: interdependence caused by trading can cause both instability and stability.
False
What primarily caused World War I?
Imperial powers wanted to protect and expand their colonies; this competition led to the first World War.
Which countries was WWI initially fought between?
Britain, France, and Russia vs. Germany and Austria-Hungary
Name some costs of WWI
- 15 million killed and soldiers scarred
- European cities destroyed–>many borrowed money from the US
- economies were devasted
- many countries restricted international trade while they tried to rebuild
Describe the Treaty of Versailles. Who had issues with it?
- signed after WWI, meant to prevent another world war
- imposed harsh on Germany in the form of reparations (payments for war damages)
- people like John Maynard Keynes warned that the reparations were too severe.
- Germany gave up its colonies (given to other countries)
___________ taxes became permanent for Canadians due to the government’s debt post WWI
income
______________ rose after World War I.
Unemployment
Who ruled Russia in 1914?
Czar Nicholas II
name some forces that led to the Russian revolution (5 points)
- peasants lived difficult lives
- industrialization lagged behind other countries
- workers struggled to survive
- in WWI, Russian soldiers has poor weapons and leadership, so many died or were captured
- food and fuel shortages were common
Who rebelled during the Russian Revolution? What did this lead to?
- workers (for better wages and working conditions)
- peasants
- deserting soldiers
This led to the economy shutting down and the Czar gave up this throne. This also resulted in a civil war, during which drought and famine killed many.
What is communism?
An economic/political model meant to get rid of class distinctions. Land and property belong to everyone.
The Soviet Union emerged post ________ war. It became a ___________ state and controlled the government and economy.
civil; one-party
What did Joseph Stalin achieve?
- transformed Russia’s economy and made the Soviet Union into an industrial and military giant
- occurred at the expense of workers
- established collective farms
- peasants were forced to work in factories, mines, or construction sites
Who was the absolute ruler that re-emerged post Russia civil war?
Joseph Stalin
What occurred in the late 1920s before the Great Depression?
an economic boom (the roaring 20s)
Describe how the Great Depression occurred?
- New York Stock Exchange: share prices started going down
- Oct 29 (Black Tuesday): investors started selling, causing panic, and share prices plummeted
- downward slide became a crash and started a chain reaction
Name some impacts of the Great Depression (about 6 points)
- people lost money
- no loans repaid
- reduced demand
- companies shut down
- unemployment
- international trade decline due to trade barriers and tariffs
Why were the prairies in Canada greatly impacted by the Great Depression?
- prices of grain fell
- drought
- grasshoppers
What did Hitler promise to fix that won him the favour of German people?
Germany was hit hard by the Great Depression and WWI reparations. Hitler promised to fix the economic state of Germany.
When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, what happened?
Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada declared war on Germany
The United States entered World War II after _______ _______.
Pearl harbor
How did WWII change Canada?
- with the manufacturing of arms, planes, and ships, unemployment fell
- women joined the workforce
WWII led to the creation of the __________ __________.
United Nations
Who was John Maynard Keynes’ and what were his beliefs?
- he was a British economist
- had warned that the treaty of Versailles was doomed to fail
- believed that unrestricted capitalism had failed
- thought that the idea of the government playing a limited role in a country’s economy was wrong
- believed in government programs
- said that ensuring that people had money to spend would generate demand
What were Friedrich Hayek?
- mistrusted government control (whether complete or partial)
- thought that a government’s rules and laws should not interfere with competition
- believed that competition and the market would keep an economy healthy
- mapped out at Bretton Woods
- supported by the United Nations
- helps countries get back on a stable financial footing after WWII
Which 2 organizations fit this criteria?
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund
What did the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT) members agree to? Where this established?
- established at Bretton Woods
- GATT members agreed to gradually eliminate tariffs and other trade barriers between themselves
The WTO emerged from the _____.
GATT
Describe the cold war.
- US vs. Soviet Union
- capitalism vs. communism
- battled for global influence and power
- never erupted into open military warfare
- interfered with global trade
The Soviet Union began to collapse in the ________(decade).
1980s
What did the destruction of the Berlin Wall symbolize?
The fall of the Soviet Union
What is a market economy?
Individuals are freer to make their own decisions with little intervention from the government (and resources are private property of individuals or companies)
Who shared the Nobel Prize in Economics for his economic ideals?
Friedrich Hayek
Britain and the US moved towards a _________ economy (post Cold War)
market
