Please select one question from Set 1 and one question from Set 2. Answer each in 500 - 700 words. Please upload your answers on Blackboard here.
Set 1
1. Describe the "power shift" theory as Royce presents it in chapter 5. What evidence does he provide to substantiate it? (pg 93)
2. What does Royce mean by "skill-biased technological change"? Why is he skeptical of this theory? (pg 89)
3.According to Royce, the structure of the American political system hinders reforms that would promote the interests of the poor. What are those structures and how do they work to serve the interests of the wealthy over the poor? (pg. 118)
4.In Chapter 6, Royce identifies four changes in the political landscape since the 1970s that have contributed to the political marginalization of low-income Americans. Describe 2 of them. (pg. 126)
Set 2
1. In Chapter 7, Royce identifies 8 ways that the news media obscure or misconstrue the structural bases of American poverty. Discuss 2 or 3 of these here.
2. According to Royce, what are some of the reasons that individualism remains a dominant ideology amongst Americans and prevails over the structural perspective? (pg 152)
3. What is social capital and why is it important for our understanding of the structural causes of poverty? (pg183)
4. Royce identifies 4 ways that high-poverty areas yield neighborhood effects and limit the life chances of the poor. Describe two of them. (pg.181)