Chapter 10

What are problems face by high-income countries?

Capital flight and deindustrialization

First World

Capitalistic democracies (like the U.S. and Japan).

Global inequality

Concentrating resources in certain nations and significantly affects the opportunities of individuals in poorer and less powerful countries.

Jake's parents were just laid off. They have enough savings to keep their house and to provide food for their children; however, Jake is unable to buy new clothes and school supplies for the upcoming school year. What state of poverty is Jake experiencing?

Relative poverty; when one is unable to live the lifestyle of the average person in the country.

Fourth World

A term from Manual Castells (sociologist) used to refer to stigmatized minority groups that were denied a political voice all over the globe (like indigenous minority populations, prisoners, and the homeless).

Michael lives in a war-torn country. His city has been destroyed by fighting and he is unable to find work. Michael struggles to find food, shelter, and clean water. What state of poverty does Michael live in?

Absolute poverty; where one is barely able, or unable, to afford basic necessities.

Where are the majority of the poorest COUNTRIES in the world located?

Africa. Centuries of conflict over land and exploitation of resources by colonial forces have caused significant struggles with poverty in Africa.

Global feminization of poverty

Around the world, women are bearing a disproportionate percentage of the burden of poverty.

Where are the majority of the world's poorest PEOPLE located?

Asia. One of the major causes of poverty in Asia is the pressure that its large population is placing on its resources.

Debt Bondage

(Bonded labor) The poor pledge themselves as servants in exchange for the cost of basic necessities like transportation, room, and board. They are paid less than they are charged for room and board. When travel is required, they can arrive in debt for their travel expenses and be unable to work their way free, since their wages do not allow them to ever get ahead.

How might a symbolic interactionist approach global inequality?

(Taken from Factory Girls excerpt, a book by Leslie T. Chang) Chang examines the daily lives and interactions of two factory girl workers - their workplace friendships, family relationships, gadgets, and goods - in this evolving global space where young women can leave tradition behind and fashion their own futures.

Symbolic interactionist perspective on global inequality

A symbolic interactionist would probably focus on understanding the difference between what someone living in a core nation defines as poverty and what someone living in a peripheral nation defines as poverty.

Conflict theorist perspective on global inequality

A conflict theorist would likely address the systematic inequality created when core nations exploit the resources of peripheral nations.

Functionalist perspective on global inequality

A functionalist might focus on why we have global inequality and what social purposes it serves.

Underground economy

A loosely defined unregulated market unhindered by taxes, government permits, or human protections. For most peripheral countries, this informal market gives them a chance to stay afloat.

Relative poverty

A state of living where people can afford necessities but are unable to meet their society's average standard of living.

What is the most pressing problem for middle-income nations?

Debt accumulation: the buildup of external debt, wherein countries borrow money from other nations to fund their expansion or growth goals.

Cold War Terminology

Developed during the Cold War era. Classifies countries into first world, second world, and third world nations based on their respective economic development and standards of living.

Core nations

Dominant capitalist countries, highly industrialized, technological, and urbanized. (U.S.)

Two dimensions to global stratification

Gaps between nations and gaps within nations

Dependency theory

Global inequality is primarily caused by core nations (or high-income nations) exploiting semi-peripheral and peripheral nations (or middle-income and low-income nations), which creates a cycle of dependence. As long as peripheral nations are dependent on core nations for economic stimulus and access to a larger piece of the global economy, they will never achieve stable and consistent economic growth.

GNI

Gross National Income (per capita) -- the mean income of the people in a nation.

Peripheral nations

Have very little industrialization; what they do have often represents the castoffs of core nations or the factories and means of production owned by core nations. Typically have unstable governments, inadequate social programs, and economically dependent on core nations for jobs and aid. (Vietnam, Cuba)

Subjective poverty

Poverty that is composed of many dimensions; it is subjectively present when your actual income does not meet your expectations and perceptions. Subjective poverty has to do with how a person or a family defines themselves.

Semi-peripheral nations

In-between nations, not powerful enough to dictate policy but act as a major source for raw material and an expanding middle-class marketplace for core nations, while also exploiting peripheral nations. (Mexico)

What do critics say about modernization theory?

It is ethnocentric. It assumes all countries have the same resources and are capable of following the same path, and it also assumes that the goal of all countries is to be as "developed" as possible. Cultural equality, history, community, and local traditions are all at risk as modernization pushes into peripheral countries.

Absolute poverty

Lack even the basic necessities like adequate food, clean water, safe housing, and access to healthcare.

Modernization theory

Low-income countries are affected by their lack of industrialization and can improve their global economic standing through one of two ways: 1) An adjustment of cultural values and attitudes to work, and 2) Industrialization and other forms of economic growth.

GINI coefficient

Measures income inequality between countries using a 100-point scale on which 1 represents complete equality and 100 represents the highest possible inequality.

Deindustrialization

Occurs as a consequence of capital flight, as no new companies open to replace jobs lost to foreign nations.

Chattel slavery

Occurs when one person owns another as property. Ex: Was practiced in the American south; child slavery and child prostitution

Faith has a full-time job and two children. She has enough money for the basics and can pay her rent each month, but she feels that, with her education and experience, her income should be enough for her family to live much better than they do. What state of poverty is Faith experiencing?

Subjective poverty; when one's actual income does not meet one's expectations.

What region is considered to be at high-risk for social unrest?

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Social unrest is often caused by income inequality. According to the International Labour Organization, Sub-Saharan Africa and the MENA region are the two regions at the highest risk for social unrest.

Three causes for global feminization of poverty

The expansion in the number of female-headed households, The persistence and consequences of intra-household inequalities and biases against women, and The implementation of neoliberal economic policies around the world.

Sedimentation of global inequality

The fact that once poverty becomes entrenched in an area it is typically very difficult to reverse. Poverty exists in a cycle where the consequences and causes are intertwined.

Second World

The in-between category: nations not as limited in development as the third world, but not as well off as the first world, having moderate economies and standard of living (like China or Cuba).

Capital flight

The movement (flight) of capital (or services, jobs) from one nation to another. (Like General Motors closing U.S. factories and opening factories in Mexico.)

Third World

The poorest, most undeveloped countries (like sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Asia).

Consequences of poverty

The sedimentation of global inequality, effects on physical and mental health, and the prevalence of crime.

Global stratification

The unequal distribution of resources among nations.

What is a flaw in the dependency theory?

The unwillingness to recognize that previously low-income nations such as China have successfully developed their economies and are independent of core nations.

Immanuel Wallerstein

Thought of the global economy as a complex system that supports an economic hierarchy that placed some nations in positions of power with numerous resources and other nations in a state of economic subordination.

Poverty affects women's overall quality of life more than men's. T/F?

True! While women have the same rate of economic poverty as men, economic poverty affects women more as they often have to do domestic duties and face economic discrimination that makes it harder for them to earn more money.

What are the problems low-income nations face?

Women are disproportionately affected by poverty (global feminization of poverty) and much of the population lives in absolute poverty.