PSCI 1102 Midterm Exam Questions
With Correct Answers.
What are the two components of global inequality? Is each component rising, falling, or staying
about the same? - answer✔✔Global inequality between countries
Global inequality is falling between countries: international inequality is on the decline. Globally
we have seen the growth of countries like China and India, coupled with stagnation and slow
population growth in rich countries. Industrialisation technology and the emergence of modern
states have all contributed to lifting the global poor out of poverty. By historical standards,
international inequality is still high
Global inequality within countries
Domestic inequality is mostly rising because of trade liberalization, skill biased technological
change, lower taxes and the rise of anti-government movements
We discussed the Malthusian constraints that limited economic growth in the pre-modern area.
What were those key constraints? Describe the Malthusian economy. - answer✔✔Economic
growth was limited in the pre-modern era because population would be larger than food supply,
resulting in food shortages and widespread "Malthusian catastrophe"
Technological advancement in agriculture would lead to economic gains however, the gains
wouldn't be widespread because the population would grow beyond the amount supported by the
food supply.
The Malthusian economy is the economic system which prevails whenever a society's production
technology advances so slowly that population growth forces incomes down to the subsistence
level.
We discussed Malthus in the context of declining international inequality: he wrote at a time
when there were ecological constraints limiting growth. Now we have advanced ag-tech and
industrialisation, international inequality is falling
What is going on here, and how does it bear on our discussion of the neoclassical growth model?
- answer✔✔The neoclassical growth model cites capital, labour and productivity as the
proximate sources of growth. Digging into labour force participation, we would say that labour
force participation spurs growth, but this begs the question: what spurs increased labour force
participation?
This graph shows the steep incline in US mortality rates in the age range of 45-54, starting in the
late nineties. Due to the opioid epidemic across the US, non Hispanic white men have been dying
in huge numbers. This has greatly affected the participation of the baby boomer generation in the
American labour force. Coupled with job losses in the rust belt and the outsourcing of
manufacturing jobs elsewhere (namely China) we can see that there are multiple reasons the US
has a waning labour force participation.
Some places, such as Zhengshou and Silicon Valley, experience sustained booms in economic
growth. What are three common sources for such booms? - answer✔✔A handful of cities and
regions experience endogenous growth where some input is subject to increasing marginal
returns. Improvements in productivity are tied to innovation and more investments in human
capital from governments and the private sector.
Common causes of this internally generated growth are tech breakthroughs, human capital
pooling, supply pooling and demand externalities
Silicon Valley has human capital pooling because vast talent is generated and attracted to the
region and growth keeps growing as more tech companies and investors move into the region
Zhengzhou China is an example of supply pooling: Apple has a mega factory where many
different inputs are made and assembled with very low transportation costs
In what three ways do colonial origins impact development outcomes today? -
answer✔✔Colonial origins created arbitrary borders which prevail today and often divide ethnic
groups (which can be an indicator of an increased tendency toward civil unrest/ intrastate
violence)
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