The Gap Instinct

Question 1

What is an easy and useful measurement for assessing the overall quality of a society (Access to food, proper sanitation, primary health care, clean water, literacy, etc.)?

Answer 1

Child mortality rate (Measured in deaths before the age of 5 per 1000 children)

Question 2

Are there any countries that have regressed in child mortality since 1960?

Answer 2

No, all have improved.

Question 3

What percentage of the world lives in low-income countries?

Answer 3

9%

Question 4

What percentage of the world lives in middle-income countries?

Answer 4

75%

Question 5

What percentage of the world lives in high-income countries?

Answer 5

16%

Question 6

T/F There is a bi-modal distribution of individuals between developing and developed countries?

Answer 6

False

Question 7

What are the breakdown of individuals in Hans Rosling’s four income levels?

Answer 7

Level 1 : 1 billion
Level 2 : 3 billion
Level 3 : 2 billion
Level 4 : 1 billion

Question 8

What is Hans Rosling’s first income level?

Answer 8

Level 1 = < $2 / day
(1 billion people)
(< $730 / year)

Question 9

What is Hans Rosling’s second income level?

Answer 9

Level 2 = < $8 / day
(3 billion people)
(< $2920 / year)

Question 10

What is Hans Rosling’s third income level?

Answer 10

Level 3 = < $32 / day
(1 billion people)
(< $11680 / year)

Question 11

What is Hans Rosling’s fourth income level?

Answer 11

Level 4 = >$32 / day
(1 billion people)
(> $11680 / year)

Question 12

Describe level 1 (According to Hans Rosling).

Answer 12

Extreme poverty. Living on gruel. Fetching water in a bucket. No transportation. Cooking on a wood fire. Little to no schooling. Dire circumstances. 1 billion people mostly split between Asia and Africa.

Question 13

Describe level 2 (According to Hans Rosling).

Answer 13

Above the extreme poverty line. Easier access to water with multiple buckets. Bike transportation. Gas stove for cooking. Unstable access to electricity. Some schooling. Unstable situation. 3 billion people.

Question 14

Describe level 3 (According to Hans Rosling).

Answer 14

$9-32 per day. Cold water tap. Motorcycle transportation. Fridge and stove combination. Stable access to electricity. Schooling for the children. Stable income. 2 billion people.

Question 15

Describe level 4 (According to Hans Rosling).

Answer 15

Greater than $32 per day. Hot and cold water available on demand. Auto transportation possible. Oven, stove, fridge, freezer combination possible. Some vacations via plane possible. More than 12 years of education generally. 1 billion people mostly in the Americas and Europe but also in Asia.

Question 16

200 years ago, what percentage of the world was living in level 1? What is comparable to the manner by which the vast majority of people live today?

Answer 16

200 years ago, 85% were living in level 1.

Today, the majority of the world (85% in levels 2 and 3) lives a life comparable to Europe or North America in the 1950s.

Question 17

What should I look for first when viewing a graph that appears to show a vast disparity between two groups?

Answer 17

First, check the scaling of the x and y-axis to see if it is logarithmic or if any portion of the axis has been left out to emphasize a disparity.

Then, look for the majority, not only the extremes.

Remember that from the top, it is easy to categorize every one below as poor, but that there is a wide spectrum of differences between those in income level 1 and income level 4.

Question 18

What organization adopted Hans Rosling’s four income level hierarchy in 2016?

Answer 18

The World Bank