CCAP Theories of Poverty 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The 'social exclusion' framework used in European anti-poverty policy differs from income-based poverty measures because it emphasizes:
- Only financial deprivation as the root cause
- Multidimensional barriers to full participation in society (Correct answer)
- Individual behavioral choices leading to poverty
- The role of immigration in creating economic stress
Correct answer: Multidimensional barriers to full participation in society
Social exclusion encompasses barriers to participation in economic, social, political, and cultural life, going beyond simple income measures.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes the 'opportunity structure' theory of poverty?
- Poor individuals lack the motivation to improve their situation
- Limited access to legitimate means of achieving success causes poverty (Correct answer)
- Welfare dependency creates a cycle of poverty across generations
- Economic recessions are the primary driver of poverty rates
Correct answer: Limited access to legitimate means of achieving success causes poverty
Cloward and Ohlin's opportunity structure theory holds that poverty results when people are blocked from legitimate pathways to economic success.
Question 3: A community action professional who believes that poverty stems from systemic racism and historical disinvestment in communities of color is applying which theoretical lens?
- Human capital theory
- Structural racism framework (Correct answer)
- Cultural deprivation theory
- Rational choice theory
Correct answer: Structural racism framework
The structural racism framework examines how policies, institutions, and historical practices have created and maintained racial disparities in wealth and opportunity.
Question 4: The 'feminization of poverty' concept, introduced by Diana Pearce in 1978, refers to the trend that:
- Women are biologically more prone to poverty than men
- Women and female-headed households are disproportionately represented among the poor (Correct answer)
- Poverty affects women's health outcomes more severely than men's
- Female politicians are less effective at reducing poverty rates
Correct answer: Women and female-headed households are disproportionately represented among the poor
Pearce observed that women, particularly single mothers, were becoming an increasingly large share of the poor population due to wage gaps, caregiving responsibilities, and lack of support.
Question 5: In the context of poverty theory, 'intersectionality' as developed by Kimberlé Crenshaw refers to:
- The geographic overlap of poverty and crime in urban areas
- How overlapping social identities (race, gender, class) combine to shape experiences of oppression (Correct answer)
- The point at which income crosses the poverty threshold
- The intersection of welfare policy and employment law
Correct answer: How overlapping social identities (race, gender, class) combine to shape experiences of oppression
Intersectionality examines how multiple social identities interact to create overlapping systems of disadvantage that cannot be understood by examining each dimension separately.
Question 6: Which poverty theory would most directly support expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) as an anti-poverty strategy?
- Culture of poverty theory
- Human capital theory (Correct answer)
- Structural functionalism
- Social constructionism
Correct answer: Human capital theory
Human capital theory holds that investing in workers' productivity and rewarding work leads to poverty reduction, making EITC—which supplements wages—a logical policy tool.
Question 7: The 'deserving vs. undeserving poor' distinction in American poverty discourse is most closely associated with which theoretical tradition?
- Structural theory
- Moral/behavioral theory (Correct answer)
- Capability approach
- Conflict theory
Correct answer: Moral/behavioral theory
Moral and behavioral perspectives on poverty have historically distinguished between those seen as poor through no fault of their own versus those perceived as making poor choices.
CCAP Theories of Poverty 3
The 'social exclusion' framework used in European anti-poverty policy differs from income-based poverty measures because it emphasizes: