4.2.6.3 Transnational corporations, NGOs and international agencies Quiz: AQA Sociology, Unit 2

The 20 questions

1. What is a transnational corporation (TNC)?

   • A company that owns or controls production, sales or assets in several countries, often coordinating activity across borders
   • An international organisation created by treaty between states to promote trade and cooperation among members
   • A charity that delivers aid programmes in several countries, funded by donations from governments and the public
   • A company that operates only in its home country but sells goods to foreign customers through online shops

2. Which sociologist argued that a transnational capitalist class is emerging from the global operations of TNCs?

   • Immanuel Wallerstein, who argued that the global economy is divided into core, semi-periphery and periphery
   • Walt Rostow, who argued that developing countries pass through stages of growth towards mass consumption
   • Leslie Sklair
   • Andre Gunder Frank, who argued that the global economy keeps poorer countries underdeveloped through dependence

3. What is the 'race to the bottom' argument about TNCs and labour standards?

   • The idea that TNCs compete to lower the price of goods, which always improves workers' living standards in every case
   • The idea that TNCs may move production to places with weaker labour and environmental standards, pressuring others to lower theirs
   • The idea that TNCs compete to raise wages and conditions for workers, so that standards improve in every country they choose to enter
   • The idea that TNCs compete to win sporting events sponsored by the same companies in every region of the world

4. What is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in the sociology of development?

   • A voluntary, non-state organisation that pursues social, humanitarian or environmental goals independently of government
   • A company that trades in goods between countries and pays taxes to the government of each country it enters
   • A government department that is responsible for managing international aid and reporting it to parliament each year
   • A United Nations agency that makes binding laws on member states in areas such as trade and human rights

5. Which international financial institutions were created at the Bretton Woods conference in 1944?

   • The European Union and the Council of Europe, both created to manage economic and political relations in Europe
   • The International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, later part of the World Bank Group
   • The World Trade Organisation and the United Nations Development Programme, both created to manage global trade and development together
   • The African Union and the Organisation of American States, both created to manage regional economic development

6. What were Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs), often attached to loans from international financial institutions?

   • Programmes that guaranteed every citizen a fixed income, funded by the sale of state assets to foreign companies
   • Conditions requiring borrowing countries to reduce public spending, liberalise trade and open markets to foreign investment
   • Programmes that transferred loans from poorer countries to richer countries as a form of compensation for colonialism
   • Programmes that paid borrowing countries to increase public spending on health, education and welfare services

7. Which sociological criticism is most often made of Structural Adjustment Programmes?

   • They had no effect on public services, because governments were always able to protect spending from any cuts
   • They increased public spending in every country that adopted them, which led to lower inflation and faster growth
   • They reduced public services such as health and education in poorer countries, which can increase poverty and inequality
   • They removed all foreign investment from borrowing countries, which left their economies entirely self-sufficient

8. Which United Nations agency publishes the annual Human Development Report?

   • The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which provides emergency loans to countries facing balance of payments problems
   • The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
   • The World Trade Organisation (WTO), which sets the rules for international trade and resolves disputes between members
   • The International Labour Organisation (ILO), which sets international standards for labour rights and working conditions

9. Which strategy do NGOs such as Oxfam and Fairtrade use to influence trade for producers in developing countries?

   • Buying shares in TNCs to take control of their boards and direct their global production decisions
   • Lobbying for the removal of all trade between countries, so that every nation produces its own goods locally
   • Providing military support to governments that are in conflict with their neighbours over trade disputes
   • Campaigning and certification schemes that promote fairer prices and conditions for producers

10. What is a key criticism of the role of international agencies such as the IMF and World Bank in development?

    • They give equal voting power to all member states, so poorer states always control the decisions taken by the agencies
    • They lend only to the richest countries, so they have never had any role in the economies of poorer nations
    • Voting power is weighted by financial contribution, so richer states have greater influence over decisions that affect borrowers
    • They make no decisions at all, because they are purely symbolic bodies with no real influence over the borrowing countries they serve

11. Which aspect of TNC power is most often discussed by sociologists in relation to host countries?

    • The power to control the weather, which TNCs use to influence the harvests and industrial output of host countries
    • The power to write national law in host countries, which TNCs exercise without any involvement of local governments
    • Bargaining power over tax, regulation and labour conditions, which can influence government policy in host countries
    • The power to choose the head of state of host countries, which TNCs exercise through private contracts with leaders

12. Which advantage of NGOs is most often identified by development sociologists?

    • They can make binding laws on governments, which they enforce through police and courts in every country of the world
    • They can mobilise volunteers and local knowledge, and can give voice to groups that are not heard in formal politics
    • They have no relationship with local communities, so they can act independently of local priorities and needs
    • They are always the largest employer in the countries where they work, which gives them control over local labour markets

13. What were the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set by the United Nations in 2000?

    • A set of eight laws for trade between nations, including tariff reductions and bans on foreign investment in all sectors
    • A set of eight targets for development, including reducing extreme poverty and hunger and improving education and health
    • A set of eight treaties on military disarmament, including bans on nuclear weapons and limits on arms exports
    • A set of eight rules for TNCs, including mandatory taxes on profits and fixed limits on the size of firms

14. Which concept describes the transfer of production processes by TNCs to lower-cost countries, which can reduce jobs in the country of origin?

    • Vertical integration, in which a firm owns the stages of production from raw materials to final sales
    • Reshoring, in which production returns to the home country after being moved abroad for cost reasons
    • Monopoly, in which a single firm controls the supply of a good or service within a market
    • Offshoring or outsourcing of production

15. Which claim is most consistent with the evidence on TNC investment in developing economies?

    • TNC investment can bring jobs and technology, but its benefits depend on local policy, linkages and how profits are shared
    • TNC investment never creates any jobs, because all production is carried out by machines that replace local workers
    • TNC investment always brings jobs and technology, so local policy and linkages make no difference to the outcome
    • TNC investment only benefits the home country of the firm, so host countries gain nothing from any investment at all

16. Evaluate the claim that NGOs are always more effective than governments in delivering development.

    • The claim is fully proven, because NGOs have never made any mistakes and always deliver services more efficiently than states
    • The claim is irrelevant, because NGOs have no role in development and are not active in any country in the world
    • The claim overstates NGO effectiveness, since NGOs vary in capacity and accountability and can work best alongside state institutions
    • The claim is confirmed by the fact that governments never deliver any services, so NGOs are the only providers in every case

17. Which conclusion best follows from the view that TNCs, NGOs and international agencies all shape development?

    • Development depends on no actors at all, because outcomes are determined by chance and the weather in each country
    • Development outcomes depend on the interaction of multiple actors with different interests, power and accountability
    • Development depends only on TNCs, so NGOs and international agencies have no influence on any development outcome
    • Development depends only on NGOs, so TNCs and international agencies have no influence on any development outcome

18. What is 'corporate social responsibility' (CSR)?

    • Donations by company owners to political parties in exchange for favourable legislation on taxation and trade
    • Legal duties placed on companies to employ a fixed share of workers from ethnic minority backgrounds in each region
    • Compulsory payments by companies to the state to fund national welfare, which are set by international treaty each year
    • Voluntary commitments by companies to address social and environmental impacts beyond what the law requires

19. Which feature distinguishes the World Bank from the IMF in its usual role?

    • The World Bank issues the world's reserve currency, while the IMF only lends money to rich countries during financial emergencies
    • The World Bank mainly lends for long-term development projects, while the IMF focuses on balance of payments and stability
    • The IMF supports only military projects, while the World Bank funds only charities working in education and health
    • The IMF regulates global trade in goods, while the World Bank regulates bank deposits and the financial markets

20. What is an accountability problem for NGOs?

    • Their legitimacy depends entirely on votes cast by members of the public in national elections held each year
    • Their legal status requires them to pay full taxes on donations, which reduces the funds available for their projects
    • Their staff are required by law to be appointed by government, which means they cannot choose their own priorities
    • Their legitimacy may depend on donors and supporters rather than on the communities they serve, which can limit accountability

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