Sample Exam Questions

SOCIOLOGY OF ECONOMIC CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT

WRITTEN PRELIMINARY EXAM

AUGUST 2, 2007

1. A. Modernization theory, world systems theory, dependency, and neoliberalism start from very different explanations for persistent poverty in the developing world, and offer different strategies for attaining development. Compare at least three different theoretical approaches to development, showing how their assumptions about the causes of persistent poverty, about the dynamics of development, and about the character of social and economic change shape the questions they ask, the evidence they use, and the kinds of policy suggestions that flow from the work. Illustrate your discussion with a relatively detailed discussion of at least one major work from EACH perspective, paying attention to the details of the specific work while using it to illustrate the main assumptions and claims of a broad theoretical paradigm.

2. The study of economic and political processes in less developed nations is sometimes called "comparative sociology," but small numbers of cases, large numbers of variables, absence of contemporaneity, and dissimilarities of size, of demographic composition, or of linguistic, ethnic, or cultural homogeneity make systematic comparison very difficult. Authors working within a world-systems frame, including P. McMichael, G. Arrighi, C. Chase-Dunn, T. Hopkins, I Wallerstein, have all addressed methods (or impossibilities) of comparing national units across these obstacles. Assess two different approaches to problems of comparison within world systems theory by any of these, or other, authors.

3. One of the predominant trends in the literature on the political sociology of development over the past decade has been the emphasis on the necessary role that a strong Weberian state and/or a well-networked civil society must play in making possible sustained economic development. A key figure in this literature has been Peter Evans (particularly in his books Embedded Autonomy and State-Society Synergy), but other contributors include Robert Putnam and Dani Rodrik. Briefly summarize the basic arguments of this scholarly tradition, and then provide an assessment of its theoretical and empirical adequacy as a theory of economic change in the global South. You may wish to focus on two or three well-known examples of work to illustrate the debates, but you can instead cover the field more widely if you choose.

4. Until the mid-1990s, most discussions of social movements focused on movements inside national borders, and SECD literature focused on national problems, movements and policies. Recently, however, many scholars have shifted to a focus on transnational social movements, suggesting that these movements may be restructuring world politics, or even constituting the basis for a new world order. What are some of the shifts B both in terms of global politics, and in terms of intellectual trajectories B that have led to this focus on transnational processes?

Choosing two or three specific examples of work on transnational social movements, discuss the underlying assumptions, evidence and arguments about transnational activism, and consider how those arguments would be altered if the authors had adopted a focus on a single nation-state. What theoretical insights are gained, and what might be lost, in the shift to a transnational perspective?

5. Twenty years ago, most theories of migration focused on individuals' decisions. As migration has become an increasingly visible part of global society, theories have shifted to focus more on macro-structural causes and long-term effects in both sending and receiving communities. Choose three works on migration and discuss their starting assumptions, their questions and their use of evidence. Be sure to locate these works within the broader literature on migration.

6. Advocates of commodity-chain approaches argue that such approaches provide a good way of conceptualizing economic relationships in an era when more transactions are conducted by and within corporations and when national accounts data are becoming less relevant. Citing illustrative works, describe and explain (i) what aspects of the current global political economy are captured well by commodity-chain approaches, and (ii) what aspects of the current global political economy are left out or not handled well by commodity-chain approaches.

7. In recent studies of global production, there seems to be a shift away from treating export-processing zone workers as uniformly vulnerable and exploited, to a growing focus on variation in the experiences of workers in export-oriented factories. For example, Salzinger suggests that distinct work processes lead workers to enact different gendered performances, Lee discusses how variation in work regimes are related to workers' statuses within families and McKay shows how factories may organize work very differently within a single industry in the Philippines.

Choosing at least three studies of export-oriented industrial work, describe the kinds of variations that scholars have found in work organization To what extent does this discussion of variation alter theoretical discussions about export processing, backward linkages, >bloody Taylorism, etc?. What, if any, do these labor-process variations tell us about broader discussions of work organization, or for theoretical discussions about the long-term development prospects of export-processing?

8. Some authors see a rich natural resource base as facilitating economic or industrial development. Over the last twenty years, however, a growing number of authors have documented the social and economic problems associated with resource-extractive economies. Explain the mechanisms underlying each of these points of view, using the appropriate theoretical terms.

9. Recently, perhaps especially in the post-Cold War era, discussions of ethnicity and indigenous identity have become particularly predominant in social science. Discuss some of the major perspectives on ethnicity and nationalism and consider the extent to which they have integrated into theoretical debates about development. To what extent might this trend undermine the appropriateness of using the nation-state as a unit of analysis in thinking about development.

10. In the early 20^th century Europe and North America, an expansion of electoral democracy was generally followed by the extension of new social welfare provisions to citizens; so much so that T.H. Marshall believed that citizenship rights would almost inevitably expand from a set of civil and political rights to a set of social and economic rights. What are some of the theoretical explanations given for the general paucity of social welfare programs in developing countries? In your answer, be sure to discuss a broad range of theoretical perspectives, including world-systems and dependency perspectives as well as explanations that might be more directly rooted in empirical material or in concepts drawn from political sociology.

11. First among the critical concerns listed in the UN's Beijing+5 declaration in 2000 was "the persistent and increasing burden of poverty on women." Selecting any two developing regions in the world, describe (i) the relationships between poverty and women in those two regions, (ii) any changes in those relationships during the past twenty years. (iii) Incorporate into your discussion some of the main schools of thought in development literature.

12. January 2007 marked the 13th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the USA, Mexico, and Canada. When NAFTA was signed into law, its supporters expressed the hope that the increases in cross-border trade between Mexico and the USA would Alift all boats@ by introducing new jobs in Mexico. By 2001, according to the Maquiladora Industry Association, 1.3 Mexican workers were employed in nearly 2,000 maquiladora factories near the Mexican/US border. Nevertheless, during the period 1994-2004 the purchasing power of Mexican workers declined, and by 2004 Mexico's National Union of Workers claimed that a quarter of Mexico's workforce was out of work. Identify and use at least two different theoretical approaches in explaining NAFTA's failure to lift all boats in Mexico during its thirteen years of existence.