Sociology chapter 9

middle income countries

-East and Southeast Asia, some Middle East and North Africa, and some in the Americas (Mexico, some Central American countries, Carribean, South America), and the previous communist republics (Russia). -began to industrialize recently so they have not had time to accumulate wealth. -Countries of the former Soviet Union are industrialized but their living standards have gone down as a result of the collapse of communism and the move to capitalist economies. -wages of ordinary people dropped 1/3 and retirement pensions dropped by ½ btwn 1998 and 1999. Economy is kind of better. -71.7% of world's population. 31% of output. Better off than low income but not high either.

education and literacy

-Education is important for economic development but poor countries lack high quality systems. Only 78% of middle income and 43% of low income kids attend high school. 30% men and 56% women in low income countries were illiterate. High income countries spend more money on national education. -Education contributes to economic growth bc ppl with advanced schooling provide the skilled workforce necessary for high wage industries. Education offers the only hope for escaping the cycle of harsh working conditions and poverty; poorly educated people are stuck w bad jobs. Educated people have fewer kids, slowing global population explosion that contributes to poverty.

ways east asian govs have facilitated economic growth

-aggressively acted to ensure political stability while keeping labor costs low. They have accomplished this by outlawing trade unions, banning strikes, jailing labor leaders, and silencing voices of the workers. -sought to steer development in desired directions. State agencies have provided cheap loans and tax breaks to businesses that invest in favored industries. Can lead to bad loans. Sometimes businesses are forced to invest in domestic companies. -social programs like low-cost housing and universal education. Workers don't require high wages to pay for housing so they can compete better with American and European workers in the global labor market

cons of world systems theory

-analyzes our global network and relationships that influence poor and rich nations -difficulty of modeling a complex and interdependent world economy. Tends to ignore cultural influences. Too much emphasis on role of nation states in a world economy and increasingly shaped by transnational corporations that operate independently of national borders

how to classify countries in terms of global inequality

-compare the wealth produced by each country for its avg citizen. -gross national income: measure of a country's yearly output of goods and services per person -World Bank uses this to classify countries as high-income, upper middle, or lower middle, or low. System shows differences in living standards among countries. -70 countries are high, 54 as upper middle, 54 as lower middle, 36 as low. -nearly 40% of the world's pop lives in low incomes, but 16 percent live in high incomes. Bc this classification is based on the average income, some inequality is masked within each country. Ex: India, China. -GNI not that reliable because it compares countries on the basis of economic output alone. Only cash sale. No trade or producing for yourself.

cons dependency theories

-emphasize exploitation -have not accounted for success of countries like Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, China, East Asia. Small countries arise despite oppression.

high income countries

-generally industrialized first. England, US, Canada, Japan, Singapore, HK, Taiwan -14.2% of population, 66% of wealth in world. -Poor ppl exist: it's just easier to be poor in these countries.

health

-health in low income countries have bad health due to bad health facilities, lack of sanitation, bad water, and disease risk. Malnourishment, starvation and famine. High HIV in Africa. -eradicated diseases are resurfacing in industrialized countries bc of anti-vacc parents. -health conditions means low-income countries are more likely to die in infancy and less likely to live to old age. Infants aren't likely to survive. Kids die young. Infant mortality rates are dropping, but HIV/AIDS has been increasing them in the poorest countries recently. -since the early 1980s, improvements have been made

low income countries

-include eastern, western, and sub-Saharan Africa, Cambodia, North Korea in East Asia, Nepal and Bangladesh in South Asia; Haiti in the Caribbean. Mostly agricultural, just beginning to industrialize. -12% of world's population, 7% of GNI. -inequality is increasing. Higher fertility for large families to provide additional farm labor, etc. Incomes are growing. -issues with malnutrition, poverty, living in rural areas. Movement to poor city conditions.

is global poverty increasing or decreasing

-number of people in extreme poverty (less than 1.25 a day) is declining. In 2010, it was half the rate as 1990. -the drop in the percentage of people living in extreme poverty is not matched by an equal drop in number living in poverty. This is bc the world population has grown. As many as a billion people will be in the category by 2015. -sub-saharan Africa: 56.5% to 47.5% in poverty. The number of poor people grew from 290 million to 386 million because of overall pop growth. -most of this percentage decrease is due to China.

barbie production

-production tells us about commodity chains -Saudi Arabia: oil is used to make ethylene (plastic body) -China National Petroleum Corp (state owned oil importer of Taiwan) buys the ethylene and sells it to Taiwan's Formosa Plastics Corporation, largest producer of PVC (toy plastic). PVC pellets are then made to make Barbie's body. -pellets shipped to factories in southern China, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Machines shipped from US shape the body. -Nylon hair comes from japan. Cotton dresses made in Chinese cotton. Only raw material on Barbie coming from the country where barbies are made. -Hong Kong: a lot of stuff to make barbies is shipped there and then rerouted. Finished barbies leave through there. -Barbie says "made in china" but none of the materials used to make her is originate in China.

cons of market oriented theories

-recommend the adoption of modern capitalist institutions in order to promote economic development. Need to open borders to trade, -overlook ties between poor and wealthy countries that might impede economic growth or enhance it. Tend to ignore outside factors. Ignore how gov can influence the private sector to spur development. Fail to explain why some countries take off economically while others remain grounded in poverty and underdevelopment

hunger, malnutrition, and famine

-these things have always been sources of poor health. But today, so many people are on the brink of starvation. -UN FAO: 925 million people go hungry every day, usually in the global south. Hunger= less than 1800 cals/day. Lots of kids die of hunger and have low birth weight due to bad mom nutrition. -Yet, a large majority of all malnourished children under the age of five live in countries w/ food surplus. -Most famine and hunger caused by natural + social forces. Drought affects many people and then warfare on top of it has wrecked food production. -HIV/AIDS: kills many working-age adults. 1/3 of people w AIDS live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Labor force will reduce by 26% in 2020. Incidence of the illness has dropped more than 25% due to access to treatment and natural course of the illness.

4 overlapping elements of the world system

1. A world market for goods and labor 2. The division of the population into different economic classes, particularly capitalists and workers 3. An international system of formal and informal political relations among the most powerful countries 4. The division of the world into three unequal economic zones, with the wealthier zones exploiting the poorer ones

stages of breaking out of a poverty slump according to modernization theory

1. Traditional stage: low rates of savings due to lack of work ethic and value set. Beginning. 2. Takeoff to economic growth: starts when countries begin to jettison their traditional values and institutions and start to save and invest money for the future. Wealthy countries, like the US, can facilitate this by funding birth control programs or providing low cost loans for electrification, road and airport construction, and new industries. 3. Drive to technological maturity: Approaching tech maturity, reinvesting its recently acquired wealth in new industries, and adopting the institutions and values of the high-income countries 4. High mass consumption: now people can enjoy the fruits of their labor by achieving a higher standard of living.

dependency theories

: Marxist theories of economic development arguing that the poverty of low-income countries stems directly from their exploitation by wealthy countries and by the multinational corporations that are based in wealthy countries. Global capitalism has locked their countries into a downward spiral of exploitation and poverty -Low-income countries are not underdeveloped, but mis-developed. People have no option but to work in poverty. There needs to be change. -Market-oriented theorists ignore political and military power. Dependency theorists regard the exercise of power as central to enforcing inequality. Voices are suppressed. Unions are outlawed. Governments to oppose these policies are overthrown. -CIA interfering w Chile and Guatemalan govs -global economic inequality is backed up by force: economic elites in poor countries, backed by their counterparts in wealthy ones, use police and military power to keep the

what direction are we headed for?

a global capitalist economy. Socialism is the challenge and ended with the Soviet Union in 1991.

richest person in 2012

carlos slim helu. first person in more than a decade and a half who wasn't american

zones of the 4th element of world system

core, periphery, semiperiphery

semiperiphery

countries that supply sources of labor and raw materials to the core industrial countries and the world economy but are not themselves fully industrialized societies. Semi-industrialized, middle-income countries that extract profits from the more peripheral countries and in turn yield profits to the core countries. Is controlled to some degree by the core, but can exploit the periphery. The greater economic success here holds out to the periphery the promise of similar development. -Ex: Mexico in North America, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, NIEs in Asia

periphery

describes countries that have a marginal role in the world economy and are thus dependent on the core producing societies for their trading relationships. Low-income, largely agricultural countries that are often manipulated by core countries for their own economic advantage. Natural resources, like agricultural products, minerals, and other raw materials, flow from periphery to core, as do the profits. The core sells finished goods to the periphery, also at a profit- essentially making itself wealthy while limiting the economic development of peripherals -Ex: throughout Africa and somewhat in Latin America and Asia

core

describes the most advanced industrial countries, which take the lion's share of profits in the world economic system (other two zones). Japan, US, western Europe

modernization theory

developed by WW Rostow. A version of market-oriented development theory that argues that low-income societies develop economically only if they give up their traditional ways and adopt modern economic institutions, technologies, and cultural values that emphasize savings and productive investment. -Traditional cultural values impede economic effectiveness. Thought people were lazy. Large families contribute to economic backwardness bc one person has a lot of mouths to feed. -problem: cultural values in these countries say that hardship is inevitable and acceptance of one's lot in life discourages people from economic development. Poverty is due to culture, which is reinforced by government policies that set wages and control prices and interfere with the economy. -sociologists are concerned w the cultural aspects of this theory and whether or how certain beliefs and institutions hinder development.

newly industrializing economies

developing countries that over the past two or three decades have begun to develop a strong industrial base, such as Singapore and Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and china. Some have reached high-income category. China has one of the most rapidly growing economies on the planet. First in terms of GDP

cons of global commodity chain

focuses on global business and their activities rather than relationships between countries -provides insight into how different regions of the world are affected but emphasizes business decisions over other factors, like roles of workers and governments in shaping economy

global economy scenario

global economy creates opportunity for everyone. Economic growth spreads. Eastern Europe becomes high-income. Tech spreads, castes are replaced with class. More opportunities for everyone. -challenge: widening tech gap between the rich and poor due to wealth disparity. Poor countries can't afford technology but need it in order to overcome poverty. -Jeffrey Sachs' three classes: -tech innovators: regions that provide the world's tech innovations. 15% of pop -tech adopters: regions that adopt tech invented elsewhere, using them for production and consumption. 50% of pop -tech disconnected: regions that neither innovate nor adopt tech. 35% of pop. -as long as some regions of the word remain technologically disconnected, it seems unlikely that global poverty will be eradicated. -tech IS globalizing. However, the world economy has been bad since the 2008 crisis, especially in Europe.

world-systems theory

pioneered by Immanuel Wallerstein, this theory emphasizes the interconnections among countries based on the expansion of a capitalist world economy. This economy is made up of core, semiperiphery, and periphery countries. The world capitalistic economic system of countries engaging in diplomatic and economic relations with one another must be understood as a single unit. -the ability of countries to move from one zone to another is very limited but possible. East Asian and regions of countries have moved before. This success can be attributed to their strong states. Appropriate government policies do not interfere with economic development but, rather, can be key in promoting it.

neoliberalism

prevailing view of economists today. The economic belief that free-market forces, achieved by minimizing government restrictions on business, provide the only route to economic growth. Global free trade will enable all countries to prosper; eliminating governmental regulation is necessary. They want an end to restrictions on trade and often challenge minimum wage, other labor laws, and environmental restrictions on business.

globalization

the development of social and economic relationships stretching worldwide. In current times, we are all influenced by organizations and social networks located thousands of miles away. A key part of the study of *** is the emergence of a world-system, for some purposes, we need to regard the world as forming a single order. The increased economic, political, and social interconnectedness of the world- has produced opportunities for unthinkable wealth but has also widespread poverty and suffering.

colonialism

the process whereby Western nations established their rule in parts of the world away from their home territories. How exploitation began. Powerful nations colonized to procure raw materials. -ended after WW2, but exploitation didn't. Huge corps continued to reap profits from their branches in low-income countries. These companies established factories in poor countries, using cheap labor and raw materials to maximize production costs w/ no gov influence. -Low labor prices stop countries from getting the right amt of profit. Poor countries forced to borrow from rich, increasing economic dependency.

global inequality

the systematic differences in wealth and power between countries. Refers to the systematic differences in wealth and power between countires.

market oriented theories

theories about economic development that assume that the best possible economic consequences will result if individuals are free to make their own economic decision, uninhibited by governmental constraint. -unrestricted capitalism. Governmental direction of economies of low-income countries blocks economic development. Any country can make it if they do it "our way," often thought in the US and other high income countries. Influenced us to stick our hand in foreign economies. -modernization theory, neoliberalism

dependent development

theory by Fernando Henrique Cardoso that says poor countries can still develop economically, but only in ways shaped by their reliance on the wealthier countries.

corporation scenario

world is dominated by large, global corps. Wages fall for high income countries and rise for low income countries. Average income worldwide will level out, but at a low level. Polarization will grow. People will either benefit from the corps or not. Could create conflict.

global commodity chains

worldwide networks of labor and production processes yielding a finished product. These networks consist of all pivotal production activities that form a tightly interlocked "chain" extending from the raw materials to the final consumer. -sees manufacturing as globalized. Many countries are becoming manufacturers. Helps countries move up in economic status. -most profitable stages are done in core countries. Least profitable stages are done in the peripherals.