Skip to ContentGo to accessibility pageKeyboard shortcuts menu
OpenStax Logo

capital flight
the movement (flight) of capital from one nation to another, via jobs and resources
chattel slavery
a form of slavery in which one person owns another
core nations
dominant capitalist countries
debt accumulation
the buildup of external debt, wherein countries borrow money from other nations to fund their expansion or growth goals
debt bondage
the act of people pledging themselves as servants in exchange for money for passage, and are subsequently paid too little to regain their freedom
deindustrialization
the loss of industrial production, usually to peripheral and semi-peripheral nations where the costs are lower
dependency theory
a theory which states that global inequity is due to the exploitation of peripheral and semi-peripheral nations by core nations
extreme poverty
the state where one is barely able, or unable, to afford basic necessities
first world
a term from the Cold War era that is used to describe industrialized capitalist democracies
fourth world
a term that describes stigmatized minority groups who have no voice or representation on the world stage
GINI coefficient
a measure of income inequality within a country; can be used to compare one country’s inequality to another's
global feminization of poverty
a pattern that occurs when women bear a disproportionate percentage of the burden of poverty
global inequality
the concentration of resources in core nations and in the hands of a wealthy minority
global stratification
the unequal distribution of resources between countries
gross national income (GNI)
the income of a nation calculated based on goods and services produced, plus income earned by citizens and corporations headquartered in that country
modernization theory
a theory that low-income countries can improve their global economic standing by industrialization of infrastructure and a shift in cultural attitudes towards work
peripheral nations
nations on the fringes of the global economy, dominated by core nations, with very little industrialization
relative poverty
the state of poverty where one is unable to live the lifestyle of the average person in the country
second world
a term from the Cold War era that describes nations with moderate economies and standards of living
semi-peripheral nations
in-between nations, not powerful enough to dictate policy but acting as a major source of raw materials and an expanding middle class marketplace
subjective poverty
a state of poverty composed of many dimensions, subjectively present when one’s actual income does not meet one’s expectations
third world
a term from the Cold War era that refers to poor, unindustrialized countries
underground economy
an unregulated economy of labor and goods that operates outside of governance, regulatory systems, or human protections
Citation/Attribution

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-3e/pages/1-introduction
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a digital format, then you must include on every digital page view the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-3e/pages/1-introduction
Citation information

© Aug 5, 2024 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.