University of Maryland
Sociology 441: Stratification 

Final exam (Fall 2002)

ESSAY QUESTIONS

The objective of the essay questions (and thus your answers) is to pull together material from different topics in order to identify common themes and patterns. Your answers will be evaluated in terms of your ability to see these similar patterns across different topics. A second important criterion will be how specific your answers are. Broad generalizations are not sufficient. You should cite specific examples or data that support your arguments for general patterns.
  1. We have discussed many  trends over the last five decades in the structure of the American stratification system. Select at least three distinct trends that you feel are important to describe what has been happening in American stratification. First, describe the changes over time. Then, for each trend, identify two possible causal forces that might explain these trends. Explain why each is a plausible causal explanation. Finally, what is the empirical evidence over time that these are really macro-level causes (i.e., do the trends show similar or dissimilar patterns)? [It is not important that you select possible explanations that turn out to be supported by the data; what is important is that you can use the evidence to evaluate how true the explanation is.]

    2.  
  2. In many of the issues we have considered, education has been a central, if not the central factor in understanding inequality in America. Explain the role that education plays at the micro (individual) level in determining different outcomes and accounting for the effects of different origins (especially class and race). What aspects of education are the most important for understanding inequality? consider the roles of (and cite evidence concerning) years of schooling, quality of schools, what is learned in school, and the economic status of classmates. How does education explain the macro (national) trends in inequality by class?

SHORT ANSWERS

These short answer questions are divided into several themes:

    Mobility

  1. How have differences in occupational status/prestige been measured?
     
  2. Identify two sources of income other than earnings: one source which is more typical of low income families and one which is more typical of high income families.

    3.  
  3. What is the relationship of higher incomes with self-reported happiness across individuals (i.e., comparing high and low income individuals)? across years (i.e., as average national income increases)? across countries (i.e., comparing rich and poor countries)?

    4.  
  4. Both the parental status of the family in which people are born and the amount of education that people attain are determinants of people's eventual occupational success. Explain how sociologists evaluate which one is more important and describe the results of that evaluation.

    5.  
  5. What is the "Wisconsin model" concerning the role of others' expectations in determining educational and occupational success? Explain both the causes and consequences of others' expectations.

    6.  
  6. Compare and contrast the middle-class and working-class values of MacLeod's two adolscent groups. How does each set of values play a role in aiding or impeding the boys' chances of success?

    7.  
  7. Why do children of affluent parents have a better chance of going to college? Identify two possible reasons and explain which one receives more support from research.

    8.  
  8. Describe two differences in family structures and explain to what extent these family structure differences explain childrens' eventual occupational attainment.

    9.  
  9. How do single parent families have an impact on children's outcomes? Identify three consequences of single parent families that are obstacles to their children's eventual status attainment.

    10.  
  10. Explain why students in schools that spend more money and have smaller classes are more likely to go on to college.

    11.  
  11. What are the two ways that college aspirations are influenced by going to a high school with more affluent fellow students?

    12.  
  12. Give two specific examples of what is meant by "cultural capital" and explain how it is different from "social capital". How does each concept help explain why class is "reproduced" from one generation to the next?

    13.  
  13. What are two class-related explanations for racial income gaps and what is the evidence that these class explanations account for the racial income differences? What is the alternative causal explanation for these income differences?

    14.  
  14. How has the situtation changed over the last few decades in poor inner city neighborhoods that makes them more difficult places to grow up in?

    15.  
  15. What are two explanations for how race accounts for the similarity of outcomes for MacLeod's black and white teenagers despite quite different attitudes towards work and school?

    16.  
  16. What are two ways in which incarceration reduces career earnings?

    17. For each of the two models (in the attached diagrams):
     

    18. parent's - education - son's (pdf file).
    19. parent's - expectations - education (pdf file).
    A. How big is the parental social status effect relative to other effects?
    B. According to the model, how does parental social status affect the outcome? How much of the parental status effect isexplained by the intervening variable(s)?
    C. Cite one other intervening variable that might explain the remaining direct effect of parental status on the outcome.
     

    Income inequality

  19. What has been the trend in median family income in the five decades since 1950? in average workers' earnings?

    20.  
  20. Describe one specific measure of family income inequality. What has been the trend in income inequality since World War II?

    21.  
  21. How does income inequality in the U.S. compare to income inequality in other industrialized countries? How do the changes in inequality in the U.S. compare with changes in inequality in other industrialized countries?

    22.  
  22. What has been the time trend in the Gross National Product (GNP) in each decade since 1950? What were the consequences of these changes for the average American family in the 1950s and 1960s? in the 1980s and 1990s? Why?

    23.  
  23. How has the income premium for a college degree (i.e., the difference between the incomes of college graduates and of those who aren't college graduates) changed in the 1980s and 1990s? How has the income premium for years of work experience changed in the last two decades?

    24.  

    Causes of rising inequality

  24. Explain how changing tax laws might affect family income inequality. What are two weaknesses in the explanation that changes in taxes have increased inequality?
     
  25. What has been the time trend in the government-guaranteed minimum wage since 1960? How does this trend match trends in earnings inequality?

    26.  
  26. What is the trend in unionization since 1950? Explain why unionization might reduce income inequality? On balance, has the trend in unionization supported growing inequality in the last quarter century?

    27.  
  27. Explain why immigration might affect earnings inequality. What has been the trend in immigration rates since 1950? Do the changes in immigration support an explanation that immigration causes inequality? What is one type of evidence that immigration is not a good explanation of changes in earnings inequality?

    28.  
  28. What is the usual relationship between unemployment rates and inequality? Explain why unemployment affects inequality. How has this relationship changed since 1980?

    29.  
  29. Explain how increases in deindustrialization would cause declining median earnings and more earnings inequality. How do the time trend data fit with the theory?

    30.  
  30. Describe one measure of the growing globalization of the American economy. Describe two ways that globalization might affect earnings inequality. How does this theory fit the time trend data?

    31.  
  31. Cite one specific technological change that might help explain the increasing earnings inequality in the last twenty years? What data can be used to evaluate the technological explanation of inequality and summarize the conclusion?

    32.  

    Poverty and welfare

  32. What has been the trend in the standard poverty measure in the last 40 years? What are two problems with the standard poverty measure? and what effect do these problems have on the level and trends in poverty you describe above?

    33.  
  33. In comparing Black-White differences in poverty, what are the differences in the percent of the poor who are Black and White? in the percent of Blacks and Whites who are poor?

    34.  
  34. How has the proportion of high school drop-outs changed over time? What effect should this have on changes in poverty rates?

    35.  
  35. What was the trend in poverty rates between 1950 and the mid-1970s? Evaluate how well the following hypotheses explain that trend:

  36. What is the evidence that rising poverty in the last quarter of the century can be blamed on average economic decline or stagnation in the country? What other economic explanation is there?

    37.  
  37. What was one family structure change that pushed for increased poverty in the last twenty-five years? What one family change pushed for declining poverty?

    38.  
  38. Identify two different kinds of government transfer payments (welfare) targeted to different populations. What has happened to poverty in those two different populations?

    39.  
  39. How does the level of poverty in the U.S. compare to poverty levels in Europe? What explains the differences in poverty rates between the U.S. and Europe? What is the evidence for this causal explanation?

    40. Unions and the working class

  40. What is an important structural change in the labor force that helps explain the decline in unionization? What is an empirical weakness of this explanation?

    41.  
  41. What is an important cultural difference that separates the working-class labor movement from middle-class American culture? What effects does this have on differences in economic activities to get ahead?

    42.  
  42. What are the three major benefits workers get from being in a unionized firm? What advantage do non-union workers get from being in an industry where most other workers are unionized?

    43.  
  43. Explain why the differences between the average earnings of union members and workers not in unions are a poor indicator of the causal effect of unions on earnings. What do more careful studies show is the causal impact of unionization on workers' earnings?

    44.  
  44. What is the main weakness of grievances and arbitration as a means for workers to get justice at work? What alternative means have not been used as much in recent years? What accounts for the shift to grievances and arbitration?

    45.  
  45. What has caused the growing bureaucratization of unions and the importance of legal training as opposed to recruiting members and leading strikes?

    46.  
  46. Explain the tactical advantage of the sitdown strikes of the 1930s (as compared to walkout strikes of the 1990s) that made it a successful weapon for labor. Why is it no longer used?

    47.  
  47. What is the usual relationship between strike rates and unemployment rates? Explain the reason for this relationship. How did this relationship change in the 1980s?

    48.  
  48. How have unionization rates varied during the 20th century? Cite two legal changes that help explain this variation.

    49.  
  49. What are two strategies employers use now to weaken labor solidarity. Why are these strategies not effective in Canada?

    50.  
  50. Describe one reason why unions lower worker productivity and efficiency; one reason why they raise efficiency. On balance, do unions increase or decrease productivity? increase or decrease company profits?

    51.  
    return to: Sociology 441 home page Sociology 441 schedule List of trend graphs
    Last updated December 5, 2002
    comments to: Reeve Vanneman. reeve@cwmills.umd.edu