Lane Kenworthy
Winter 2018-19

POVERTY

1. In “A Decent and Rising Income Floor,” I say the average yearly income of American households in the bottom 20% is approximately

a. Zero
b. $20,000
c. $45,000

2. True or false: In “A Decent and Rising Income Floor,” I say that some poor families own their home and have a car, a television, and air conditioning.

a. True
b. False

3. True or false: In “A Decent and Rising Income Floor,” I say low-income households in the United States tend to have lower incomes than their counterparts in many other rich nations, yet fewer Americans suffer actual material hardship.

a. True
b. False

4. In “A Decent and Rising Income Floor,” I say that since the late 1970s the main source of rising income for low-income households in most affluent nations has been increases in

a. Wages
b. Employment
c. Government benefits

5. In “A Decent and Rising Income Floor,” I say that since the late 1970s the United Kingdom has

a. Done no more to increase government transfers to the poor than the US has
b. Experienced little or no increase in the incomes of the poor, like the US
c. Neither A nor B

LIFE AND DEATH

1. In “Longevity,” I show that life expectancy in the United States

a. Increased steadily since 1900
b. Increased from 1900 to 1980, but has decreased since then

2. True or false: In “Longevity,” I say America’s slow rate of increase in life expectancy is chiefly a result of the fact that we spend so little money on health care.

a. True
b. False

3. In “Longevity,” I show that since 1980 the gap in life expectancy has widened between

a. Blacks and whites
b. Persons with low income and those with high income

4. In “Longevity,” I show that since 1999 the death rate for middle-aged whites in the United States has

a. Decreased, but less rapidly than among other groups in the US and in other rich nations
b. Increased

5. In “Longevity,” I argue that the most likely cause of the rise in the middle-aged white death rate since 1999 is

a. Economic insecurity
b. Reference group comparisons
c. Opioid pain relievers

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION

1. In “Marijuana,” I show that which of the following approaches is used in more states?

a. Decriminalization or medical marijuana
b. Legalization

2. True or false: In “Marijuana,” I say the share of Americans who say they favor marijuana legalization is

a. Smaller than it was in the 1970s
b. About the same as it has been for the past generation
c. Larger than in recent decades

3. True or false: In “Marijuana,” I say the evidence indicates that marijuana is a gateway drug that leads to very large increases in use and abuse of cocaine and heroin.

a. True
b. False

4. In “Marijuana,” I say the evidence suggests that decriminalization of marijuana probably would result in

a. A large increase in marijuana use and abuse
b. Little or no increase in marijuana use and abuse
c. We have too little evidence to draw an informed conclusion

5. In “Marijuana,” I say the evidence suggests that legalization of marijuana probably would result in

a. A large increase in marijuana use and abuse
b. Little or no increase in marijuana use and abuse
c. We have too little evidence to draw an informed conclusion

INCOME INEQUALITY

1. In “Is Income Inequality Harmful?,” I say that in assessing the effect of income inequality it’s helpful to compare changes across countries because

a. Doing so is closer to an experimental design
b. We have good income inequality data for only five countries

2. True or false: In “Is Income Inequality Harmful?,” I show that since the late 1970s income inequality has increased more in the United States than in most other rich democratic nations.

a. True
b. False

3. In “Is Income Inequality Harmful?,” I conclude from the experience of the rich democracies that a country with more income inequality is likely to do worse in its average level of

a. Education, health, and family
b. Happiness
c. Both A and B
d. Neither A nor B

4. True or false: In “Is Income Inequality Harmful?,” I say there is solid evidence that rising income inequality has increased the political influence of the rich in the United States.

a. True
b. False

5. True or false: In “Is Income Inequality Harmful?,” I conclude that because many of the inequality-is-harmful hypotheses aren’t supported by the evidence, we shouldn’t worry about America’s high and rising income inequality.

a. True
b. False

CITIES

1. In “How Skyscrapers Can Save the City,” Edward Glaeser says it would be ________ if more Americans lived in large cities.

a. Better
b. Worse

2. In “How Skyscrapers Can Save the City,” Edward Glaeser says the main reason why more Americans don’t live in large cities is

a. Housing is very expensive
b. Too much crime

3. True or false: In “How Skyscrapers Can Save the City,” Edward Glaeser says the main determinant of the price of housing in big cities is the supply of housing units.

a. True
b. False

4. In “How Skyscrapers Can Save the City,” Edward Glaeser says the chief barrier to increasing the supply of housing in America’s large cities is

a. High taxes
b. Zoning rules, height restrictions, and historical preservation designations

5. True or false: In “How Skyscrapers Can Save the City,” Edward Glaeser says increasing the supply of housing in large cities by building more skyscrapers will increase the number of ________ living in such cities.

a. Affluent persons
b. Low- and middle-income persons
c. Both A and B

EDUCATION

1. True or false: In “College Education,” I say that in a typical cohort of Americans these days, about one-third will never enter college, about one-third will do some college but not get a four-year degree, and about one-third will get a four-year degree or more.

a. True
b. False

2. In “College Education,” I show that the share of Americans with a four-year college degree

a. Has increased steadily since 1950
b. Increased in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, but has held constant since then

3. In “College Education,” I show that the share of 25-to-34-year-olds with a four-year college degree in the United States _______ among rich democratic nations.

a. Is one of the highest
b. Was one of the highest two decades ago, but now is in the middle of the pack

4. In “College Education,” I show that the published (“sticker”) price of college (for an in-state student at a public college) has increased _______ since 2000.

a. A lot
b. Only a little

5. In “College Education,” I show that the net price (published price minus financial aid and grants) of college (for an in-state student at a public college) for a student from a low-income family has increased _______ since 2000.

a. A lot
b. Only a little

GUNS

1. True or false: In “Guns,” I show that when we look over time in the United States, the number of guns in private hands correlates very strongly with the rate of gun homicides.

a. True
b. False

2. True or false: In “Guns,” I show that across countries there is a strong positive correlation between the number of guns per person and the rate of gun homicides, but when the United States is excluded there is little or no correlation

a. True
b. False

3. True or false: In “Guns,” I show that states with stricter regulations on gun ownership tend to have lower rates of gun deaths

a. True
b. False

4. In “Guns,” I show that the most common type of gun death in the US is

a. Homicide
b. Suicide

5. True or false: In “Guns,” I show that more than half of Americans favor background checks and police permits for purchasing a gun.

a. True
b. False

OBESITY

1. In “Weight Moderation,” I show that the share of American adults who are obese is approximately

a. 20%
b. 40%
c. 60%
d. 80%

2. In “Weight Moderation,” I say the main cause of rising obesity in the United States is

a. Increased eating
b. Less exercise
c. Less smoking

3. True or false: In “Weight Moderation,” I say the main cause of increased eating in the US is an increase in the supply of cheap, tasty, high-calorie food.

a. True
b. False

4. In “Weight Moderation,” I say the hypothesis that rising income inequality is a key cause of rising obesity is strongly supported by what evidence?

a. The cross-country pattern of change over time
b. The cross-state pattern of change over time
c. Neither A nor B

5. In “Weight Moderation,” I say the hypothesis that rising economic insecurity is a key cause of rising obesity is strongly supported by what evidence?

a. Over-time developments in Canada
b. The pattern among more and less affluent women after the mid-1990s welfare reform
c. Neither A nor B

GOVERNMENT

1. In “Is Big Government Bad for the Economy?,” I say

a. There surely is a tipping point beyond which government taxing and spending hurts the economy
b. There probably isn’t a tipping point

2. True or false: In “Is Big Government Bad for the Economy?,” I show that rich democratic nations with higher government spending tend to have a larger government debt.

a. True
b. False

3. In “Is Big Government Bad for the Economy?,” I say critics of big government worry that when government taxes and spends a lot of money, private firms will lobby harder to get government to pass regulations that

a. Increase competition
b. Reduce competition

4. True or false: In “Is Big Government Bad for the Economy?,” I show that rich democratic nations with higher taxes tend to have lower employment rates, but that taxes aren’t the real cause of those lower employment rates.

a. True
b. False

5. True or false: In “Is Big Government Bad for the Economy?,” I find that one area in which countries with bigger governments clearly do worse than those with smaller governments is economic growth.

a. True
b. False

POLITICS

1. True or false: In “Is America Too Polarized?,” I show that since the 1970s Americans have moved away from the center and toward the extremes in their general political views (liberal, conservative).

a. True
b. False

2. In “Is America Too Polarized?,” I show that elected representatives in the Senate and House have

a. Sorted more cleanly by political party, with conservatives almost always Republicans and liberals almost always Democrats
b. Moved away from the center in their voting
c. Both A and B

3. True or false: In “Is America Too Polarized?,” I say that Americans’ political views (liberal, conservative) have become more closely aligned with those of their preferred political party (Democrat, Republican).

a. True
b. False

4. In “Is America Too Polarized?,” I say gridlock (difficulty in passing new laws or adjusting existing laws) is

a. An automatic consequence of polarized political parties
b. A consequence of polarized parties in a political system with many “veto points”

5. In “Is America Too Polarized?,” I say one route to escaping gridlock is

a. Republican leaders abandon their oppositional stance
b. One of the two parities begins to consistently win elections and control multiple decision making branches of government
c. State and local governments become more active in implementing policy change
d. All of the above

INCLUSION: WOMEN

1. In “Inclusion: Women,” I show that women made the most progress relative to men in employment and earnings in the years

a. 1980 to 2000
b. 2000 to 2015

2. True or false: In “Inclusion: Women,” I show that American women have made no progress at all in getting into top positions in corporations.

a. True
b. False

3. In “Inclusion: Women,” I show that the gap between women and men in hours spent doing housework and/or child care

a. Decreased in the 1960s and 1970s
b. Hasn’t change in recent decades
c. Both A and B

4. True or false: In “Inclusion: Women,” I show that American women have made no progress at all in getting into top positions in politics.

a. True
b. False

5. In “Inclusion: Women,” I show that according to the best available data, since the early 1990s the incidence of rape and domestic violence against women in the US have

a. Increased
b. Stayed the same
c. Decreased

INCLUSION: AFRICAN AMERICANS

1. In “Inclusion: African Americans,” I examine the degree of inequality between whites and blacks on a range of indicators of education, income, health, family, etc. The gap between whites and blacks has decreased a lot on

a. Almost all indicators
b. Only a few indicators

2. In “Inclusion: African Americans,” I show that since the early 1960s the gap between whites and African Americans has narrowed in

a. Life expectancy
b. Incarceration
c. Marriage
d. Median wealth

3. In “Inclusion: African Americans,” I discuss two recent studies that examined police shootings of unarmed black men. Both studies concluded that

a. Blacks are more likely than whites to be stopped by police and to experience use of force if stopped
b. Among those stopped or arrested, blacks aren’t more likely than whites to be shot at or killed by police
c. Both A and B

4. True or false: In “Inclusion: African Americans,” I show that very few blacks think discrimination is still common.

a. True
b. False

5. In “Inclusion: African Americans” I say the main reason why progress toward inclusion of African Americans has been disappointingly limited since the 1970s is

a. Continued discrimination
b. Black culture
c. Economic restructuring

INCLUSION: LGBTQs

1. In “Inclusion: LGBTQs,” I say the best available data suggest this group is approximately what share of the US population?

a. 4%
b. 14%

2. In “Inclusion: LGBTQs,” I say _______ are a particularly informative source of information on the degree to which sexual orientation and gender identity are biological

a. Experiments
b. Comparison of identical twins and fraternal twins

3. True or false: In “Inclusion: LGBTQs,” I say that same-sex intercourse used to be illegal in most US states.

a. True
b. False

4. True or false: In “Inclusion: LGBTQs,” I say only a very small share of Americans think transgender persons should be allowed to serve in the military.

a. True
b. False

5. In “Inclusion: LGBTQs,” I describe a 2013 Pew Research Center survey of LGBT persons about Americans’ attitudes. In that survey, which of the following groups were seen as least accepted by Americans?

a. Gay men
b. Lesbian women
c. Trans persons

RELIGION

1. True or false: In “Religion,” I show that the United States is one of the most religious among the rich democratic nations.

a. True
b. False

2. True or false: In “Religion,” I show that contrary to conventional opinion, religion hasn’t declined at all in the United States in recent decades.

a. True
b. False

3. In “Religion,” I say that

a. While many older, established religious organizations have been declining in membership over the past half century, newer ones have been growing
b. The membership losses of older religious organizations have exceeded the gains of newer ones
c. Both A and B

4. True or false: In “Religion,” I show that religion’s influence on Americans’ beliefs and behaviors has decreased in recent decades.

a. True
b. False

5. In “Religion,” I suggest that a less-religious America will likely have

a. A weaker economy
b. More crime
c. Less happiness
d. Less community

SOCIAL CONNECTIONS

1. True or false: In “Social Connections,” I say key features of the transition from traditional to modern society — geographic mobility, urbanization, new sources of entertainment, women’s movement into paid work, and expansion of government social programs — virtually guarantee a rise in isolation and loneliness.

a. True
b. False

2. In “Social Connections,” I say the available data suggest that the amount of contact American adults have with family and friends has _______ over the past half century.

a. Increased sharply
b. Stayed constant or decreased a little
c. Declined sharply

3. In “Social Connections,” I say the share of Americans who say they have no friends and the average number of friends Americans say they have

a. Has stayed the same
b. Has decreased

4. In “Social Connections,” I say according to the best available data, loneliness among American adults has _______ over the past half century.

a. Increased
b. Stayed the same

5. True or false: In “Social Connections,” I show that the share of American teenagers who say they feel lonely a lot of times has increased since 2007.

a. True
b. False

FOREIGN POLICY

1. In “US Military Intervention Abroad,” I say that for most of the past two centuries the main justification for military intervention was

a. National interest of the intervening country
b. Humanitarian assistance
c. Democracy

2. In “US Military Intervention Abroad,” I show that over the past century the monetary cost of America’s major military interventions abroad, from World War I through Libya, has tended to

a. Increase
b. Decrease

3. True or false: In “US Military Intervention Abroad,” I say that since the end of the Cold War around 1990, every major US military intervention abroad has been authorized by the United Nations.

a. True
b. False

4. True or false: In “US Military Intervention Abroad,” I say America’s successful military interventions in the 1990s increased optimism about the possibility for such interventions to do good

a. True
b. False

5. In “US Military Intervention Abroad,” I say a key obstacle to humanitarian intervention these days is

a. The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks turned the focus of rich countries toward domestic security and anti-terrorism
b. Our weapons-of-mass-destruction mistake in Iraq has heightened concern about whether our knowledge is sufficient to justify intervention
c. China and Russia can veto authorization by the UN of any proposed intervention
d. All of the above