CCAP Theories of Poverty 2 ā Questions and Answers
Question 1: The 'culture of poverty' theory, popularized by Oscar Lewis, suggests that poverty persists primarily because of:
- Lack of government welfare programs
- Internalized values and behaviors passed across generations (Correct answer)
- Racial discrimination in hiring
- Insufficient minimum wage laws
Correct answer: Internalized values and behaviors passed across generations
Lewis argued that people in poverty develop a distinct subculture with shared values, attitudes, and behaviors that are transmitted to children and perpetuate poverty.
Question 2: Which theoretical perspective views poverty as a functional necessity that motivates people to fill less desirable but necessary social roles?
- Conflict theory
- Symbolic interactionism
- Structural functionalism (Correct answer)
- Social constructionism
Correct answer: Structural functionalism
Structural functionalists like Davis and Moore argued that wage inequality incentivizes people to take on difficult or undesirable jobs essential to society.
Question 3: The concept of 'relative poverty' differs from 'absolute poverty' in that relative poverty is defined by:
- Inability to afford basic survival needs like food and shelter
- A person's income compared to the median income of their society (Correct answer)
- The number of days a person goes without eating
- Government-established official poverty thresholds
Correct answer: A person's income compared to the median income of their society
Relative poverty measures deprivation in relation to the living standards of others in the same society, while absolute poverty focuses on minimum survival needs.
Question 4: Amartya Sen's 'capabilities approach' to poverty emphasizes that poverty should be understood as:
- A lack of monetary income below a fixed threshold
- Deprivation of substantive freedoms and the ability to live a valued life (Correct answer)
- A natural outcome of market competition
- A temporary condition resolved by employment
Correct answer: Deprivation of substantive freedoms and the ability to live a valued life
Sen argued that poverty is fundamentally about the absence of capabilitiesāthe real freedoms people have to achieve well-beingānot merely low income.
Question 5: Which theory of poverty argues that economic systems deliberately maintain a 'reserve army of labor' to keep wages low and profits high?
- Human capital theory
- Marxist/conflict theory (Correct answer)
- Behavioral theory
- Opportunity structure theory
Correct answer: Marxist/conflict theory
Marx argued that capitalism requires a surplus population of unemployed workers to suppress wage demands and maximize capitalist profit.
Question 6: The 'spatial mismatch hypothesis' developed by John Kain explains urban poverty as resulting from:
- Inadequate public transportation funding
- The geographic distance between low-income residents and available jobs (Correct answer)
- Discrimination by suburban employers against urban residents
- A lack of vocational training in inner-city schools
Correct answer: The geographic distance between low-income residents and available jobs
Kain found that jobs moved to suburbs while low-income minority workers remained in inner cities, creating a geographic mismatch that caused unemployment and poverty.
Question 7: When a community action professional uses an 'asset-based' approach rather than a 'deficit-based' approach to poverty, they are:
- Focusing on community strengths and resources to drive change (Correct answer)
- Identifying all the problems and needs in a community first
- Applying for grants to fund new social services
- Conducting research on barriers to employment
Correct answer: Focusing on community strengths and resources to drive change
Asset-based community development (ABCD) builds on existing strengths, skills, and resources within a community rather than focusing on its deficits and needs.
CCAP Theories of Poverty 2
The 'culture of poverty' theory, popularized by Oscar Lewis, suggests that poverty persists primarily because of: