Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumThe Digital Revolution and Economic Globalization

The global integration of markets, driven by rapid advances in computer technology, fiber-optic communication, and the internet, has redefined the modern corporation. By enabling real-time communication across borders, companies can now decompose their supply chains, locating research and design in high-wage economies while offshoring assembly and customer support to developing nations. This international division of labor increases efficiency for multinational firms but exposes domestic manufacturing workers to direct competition from low-wage labor pools abroad.

—Adapted from an economic report on globalization and technology, 1999

Based on the passage, the economic processes described most directly contributed to which of the following developments in the United States during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries?

  1. A transition toward a service-oriented and technology-based domestic economy, alongside a decline in manufacturing employment.Answer
  2. B
    The implementation of high protective tariffs to insulate domestic factory workers from international trade partners.
  3. C
    A return to isolationist economic policies as corporations focused on domestic self-sufficiency.
  4. D
    A rapid decline in the economic disparities between rural agricultural workers and urban tech-sector professionals.

Answer

A transition toward a service-oriented and technology-based domestic economy, alongside a decline in manufacturing employment.
The correct answer describes the long-term structural changes in the American economy since the late twentieth century. With the advent of global communication and the internet, corporations offshored manufacturing processes to regions with cheaper labor costs. This led to a significant decline in traditional domestic manufacturing jobs (a process known as deindustrialization) and a corresponding growth in the service, information, and high-technology sectors.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus passage.
The passage describes how advances in digital communication allowed companies to decompose supply chains, offshoring manufacturing and labor to lower-wage developing countries while focusing on high-wage research and design.
Understanding the core argument of the stimulus is essential for identifying the correct historical effect.
2
Evaluate the historical outcomes of globalization and the digital revolution in the United States from 1980 to the present.
These trends led to deindustrialization in traditional manufacturing sectors and the rise of a post-industrial economy centered on technology, finance, and services.
Connecting the stimulus to the broader historical context of Period 9 allows for the elimination of incorrect choices.
3
Identify the option that accurately describes this economic transition.
The option stating that the U.S. transitioned to a service-oriented and technology-based domestic economy, alongside a decline in manufacturing employment, perfectly aligns with these historical developments.
Matching the historical analysis to the correct option provides the final answer.

Key Concept

The Shift to a Service and Technology Economy due to Digital Revolution and Globalization
Estimated Time:1m 30s
Rate this question

Topics

The Digital Revolution and Economic Globalization

More questions from this topic