Deindustrialization in the Core

Which term best describes the post–World War II system emphasizing mass production of standardized goods and high wages enabling mass consumption?

• Fordism

• Taylorism

• Feudalism

• Mercantilism

• Keynesianism

What is deindustrialization in the core most accurately defined as?

• Complete collapse of all economic activity in cities

• Decline of manufacturing employment in core industrial centers

• Shift of agriculture from core to periphery regions

• Government ownership of major manufacturing firms

• Increase of union membership in manufacturing

Corporate disinvestment occurs when companies primarily do which action?

• Stop investing and begin selling off factories and equipment

• Increase capital spending on new urban plants

• Raise wages to retain skilled manufacturing labor

• Merge with foreign firms to form joint ventures

• Expand research labs in old industrial cores

Offshoring is best described as which practice?

• Moving headquarters to a suburban office park

• Replacing workers with automated machinery domestically

• Transferring tasks to a third party within the same city

• Outsourcing only customer service to local vendors

• Relocating production and support services to another country

Outsourcing differs from offshoring because outsourcing specifically involves what?

• Relocating workers to rural areas for lower rents

• Importing cheaper raw materials for production

• Cutting wages for existing in-house employees

• Opening a new factory in a lower-wage country

• Transferring internal operations to a third-party company

Which factor in the 1970s most increased costs in old manufacturing centers and pushed firms to relocate?

• Improved union benefits in peripheral regions

• Lower interest rates for industrial expansion

• Rising land values, wages, and taxes in core cities

• Declining transportation infrastructure in rural areas

• Cheaper energy prices in the manufacturing belt

What combined to fuel deindustrialization in the late twentieth century?

• Agricultural mechanization and subsidies

• Urbanization and suburban housing booms

• Corporate disinvestment, offshoring, and outsourcing

• Technological stagnation and labor shortages

• Protectionist tariffs and rising quotas

By 2020, approximately what share of total employment in the United States was in manufacturing?

• About 8.4 percent

• About 20 percent

• About 50 percent

• About 15 percent

• About 32 percent

Which statement best explains why manufacturing output could rise while manufacturing jobs fell in the United States?

• Consumer demand collapsed across all industries

• Labor productivity improvements reduced labor needs

• All production shifted to the tertiary sector

• Unionization rates increased across factories

• Trade embargoes increased domestic employment

Which region in the United States is commonly associated with deindustrialization and abandoned factories from auto and steel closures?

• The Gulf Coast

• The Rust Belt

• The Sun Belt

• The Pacific Northwest

• The Great Plains