Soci 102 midterm

What is the Gini coefficient?

A measure of income or wealth inequality within a population; a value closer to 0 indicates greater equality, while a value closer to 1 (or 100, depending on the scale) indicates greater inequality.

What does a Gini coefficient closer to 0 indicate?

A more equal distribution of income or wealth.

What does a Gini coefficient closer to 1 indicate?

A more unequal distribution of income or wealth.

What is global inequality?

Inequality in resources, income, wealth, and life chances between people or groups across the world.

What are Milanovic’s three eras of global inequality?

A framework for understanding how global inequality has changed across historical periods; the study guide uses it to compare patterns of inequality over time.

What is homoplutia?

A situation in which the same people or households receive both substantial income from capital and high income from labour.

What is the critique of economic growth discussed in the guide?

Economic growth does not automatically produce equality or ensure that its benefits are distributed fairly.

Why is the state important in discussions of inequality?

State policies and institutions can shape the distribution of resources, opportunities, protections, and power.

What is equality of outcome?

The idea that people should end up with more equal results or distributions of resources.

What is equality of opportunity?

The idea that people should have fair access to opportunities, even if their eventual outcomes differ.

What does ‘survival of the fittest’ imply in social debates about inequality?

A view that unequal outcomes are natural or justified because individuals compete and those deemed most capable succeed.

What is a Marxist perspective on inequality?

An approach that emphasizes class relations, ownership, exploitation, and conflicts between those who control productive resources and those who work for them.

What is a feminist perspective on inequality?

An approach that examines how gendered power relations and institutions produce or sustain inequality.

What is intersectionality?

A framework for examining how overlapping social positions and systems of power—such as class, gender, and race—shape people’s experiences of inequality.

What is a postcolonial perspective?

An approach that examines the lasting effects of colonial power, knowledge, and economic relationships after formal colonial rule.

How can inequality be understood in the Canadian context?

By examining how institutions, policies, and social structures shape unequal access to income, wealth, opportunities, and security.

What is colonialism?

A system in which one power controls another territory and its people, often extracting resources and imposing political, economic, or cultural control.

What is neocolonialism?

The continuation of unequal control or dependency after formal colonial rule, often through economic, political, or financial relationships.

What is the international division of labour?

The way work and production are distributed across countries, often with different countries occupying unequal roles in global production.

How do Keynesian ideas generally view the role of government in the economy?

Government can intervene in the economy to manage demand, support employment, and reduce the effects of economic downturns.

How do Hayek’s ideas generally view government intervention in markets?

They emphasize the coordinating role of markets and warn that extensive government direction can undermine economic freedom and market coordination.

What is a debt crisis?

A situation in which a country has difficulty meeting its debt obligations.

What are Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs)?

Economic reform conditions often attached to loans, commonly involving measures such as spending cuts, privatization, trade liberalization, or market-oriented reforms.

What is the central idea of Patel’s argument about cheapness?

The production of ‘cheap’ goods and inputs is connected to broader systems that make land, labour, food, energy, and lives appear inexpensive or disposable.

What is depeasantization?

The process by which people are displaced or move away from peasant farming and rural livelihoods.

What is the feminization of labour?

A process in which more work is performed by women or is organized under conditions associated with women’s historically undervalued labour; its meaning depends on context.

What is the documentary Life and Debt about in the course context?

It examines Jamaica’s experience of globalization and international economic policies, including how trade and debt-related changes affect local livelihoods.

What is financialization?

The growing influence of financial markets, financial institutions, and financial motives in the economy and everyday life.

What is Krippner associated with in the guide?

The study of financialization and the growing importance of financial activities and motives in the economy.

What is World-Systems Theory?

A framework that explains the world economy as an interconnected system structured by unequal relationships among countries and regions.

What is the core in World-Systems Theory?

The more powerful and economically advantaged part of the world-system, associated with greater control over high-value economic activities.

What is the periphery in World-Systems Theory?

The less powerful part of the world-system, often positioned in subordinate roles and associated with supplying labour or raw materials.

What is the semi-periphery in World-Systems Theory?

A position between the core and periphery that combines characteristics of both and can play an intermediate role in the world economy.

How does World-Systems Theory explain global inequality?

It emphasizes that inequality is produced through relationships within the global economic system, not simply by differences within individual countries.

What is a global commodity chain?

The linked activities and actors involved in producing, distributing, and consuming a commodity across locations.

How can fast fashion illustrate global inequality?

It can reveal how design, manufacturing, labour conditions, consumption, and profits are distributed unevenly across a global supply chain.

What is urbanization?

An increase in the proportion of a population living in urban areas, often accompanied by the growth of cities.

What is the demographic transition model?

A model describing how birth rates and death rates tend to change as societies undergo demographic and socioeconomic transformation.

What is migration?

The movement of people from one place to another, temporarily or permanently.

What are remittances?

Money that migrants send to family members or communities in another location, often their place of origin.

What is citizenship?

A formal membership status in a political community that is associated with rights, responsibilities, and access to protections.

How can citizenship affect inequality?

Citizenship status can shape access to rights, services, security, and opportunities.

What is connective labour?

Work involved in creating, maintaining, and managing social connections and relationships.

What is bureaucratization?

The organization of work and institutions through formal rules, procedures, roles, and hierarchies.

What is dehumanization?

Treating people as less than fully human, or reducing them to categories, numbers, tasks, or economic functions.

How can bureaucratization contribute to dehumanization?

Formal procedures and categories can cause institutions to prioritize rules or efficiency over individual needs and experiences.

What is income?

Money received over a period of time, such as wages, salaries, or investment income.

What is wealth?

The value of assets a person or household owns, minus liabilities or debts.

How are income and wealth different?

Income is a flow of money over time; wealth is the stock of assets accumulated at a point in time.

What is occupational prestige?

The social status or respect associated with a particular occupation.

What is Piketty known for in discussions of inequality?

His work on the long-term concentration of wealth and the relationship between capital and economic inequality.

Why can wealth inequality persist across generations?

Wealth can be inherited and can generate additional income or investment returns, allowing advantages to accumulate over time.

Why does economic growth not necessarily reduce inequality?

The gains from growth may be distributed unevenly, so some groups benefit much more than others.

How are colonialism and neocolonialism different?

Colonialism involves formal territorial and political control; neocolonialism refers to continuing forms of unequal influence or dependency after formal colonial rule.

How can Structural Adjustment Policies affect social inequality?

Depending on their design and context, spending cuts and market reforms can change access to public services, employment, and social protections.

How are financialization and globalization related?

Financialization concerns the growing power of finance, while globalization concerns cross-border integration; they can reinforce one another through international capital flows and financial institutions.

What is the difference between core and periphery countries in World-Systems Theory?

Core regions tend to hold more economic and political power and higher-value activities, while peripheral regions are more subordinate in the global division of labour.

How can a global commodity chain hide inequality?

Consumers may see the final product without seeing the different wages, working conditions, power relations, and profit shares involved in its production.

Why are remittances sociologically important?

They connect migration to household livelihoods and local economies, while also showing how opportunities and resources are distributed across borders.

What is one key sociological question to ask about inequality?

Who benefits, who bears the costs, and how do institutions and power relations shape that distribution?

How do Marxist, feminist, intersectional, and postcolonial approaches differ in emphasis?

Marxist approaches emphasize class and ownership; feminist approaches emphasize gendered power; intersectionality examines overlapping systems; postcolonial approaches emphasize colonial histories and their continuing effects.

What should you do when applying a theory of inequality to a case study?

Identify the relevant concept, explain the mechanism producing inequality, and connect the case to evidence or examples from the course.