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ED
OV
PR
AP
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IA
UV
ST
, TABLE OF CONTENTS
Instructor's Manual & Test Bank: The Good Society: An
Introduction to Comparative Politics, 3rd Edition
Authors: Alan Draper, Ansil Ramsay (2015)
ST
Chapter 1. Comparative Politics and the Good Society
UV
Chapter 2. The State
Chapter 3. State and Society
Chapter 4. Political Culture and Identity
IA
Chapter 5. Political Economy
Chapter 6. Authoritarianism
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Chapter 7. Democracy
Chapter 8. Economic and Human Development
Chapter 9. Developed Countries and the Good Society
AP
Chapter 10. Less-Developed Countries and the Good Society
Chapter 11. Communism, Postcommunism, and the Good Society
PR
OV
ED
?
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, Chapter 1. Comparative Politics and the Good Society
Chapter Overview
ST
The chapter begins with the question of why some countries are better than others at creating
conditions in which citizens can achieve their potential. It then suggests comparative politics can
help answer this question. The introduction to the chapter explains what comparative politics is
and how it differs from international relations, with which it is often confused.
UV
The second section of the chapter introduces students to the logic and practice of comparative
analysis. It begins by discussing hypotheses, independent and dependent variables,
operationalizing variables, and using controls. It then explains three methods of comparative
analysis: using case studies, comparative case studies, and comparing many countries. It
IA
provides examples of how each method has been used. This section explains the difference
between correlation and causation and between empirical and normative judgment.
The third section considers two visions of a good society, one using GDP per capita as a measure
?_
of success and the other using national happiness as a measure of success. It finds both wanting.
GDP per capita includes goods and services that are not indicators of a good society, omits
behavior many believe is desirable, and does not take into account how income is distributed in a
population. Happiness measures do not examine the different ways people find happiness, have
AP
difficulty separating out cultural effects on how people report happiness in surveys, and
discriminate against very deprived citizens who tend to have lower standards for judging their
happiness than wealthier people.
The following section makes the case that the capability approach provides the most useful way
PR
of measuring the good society. The approach focuses upon individuals’ freedom to live the kind
of lives they value. Doing so requires four basic capabilities: physical well-being, informed
decision making, safety, and being able to participate effectively in the political choices that
determine one’s life.
OV
The final section of the chapter responds to criticisms of the capability approach. The section
argues that the approach is not too idealistic, is not contrary to human nature, and is not guilty of
cultural imperialism, using culturally-biased ideas argued from the United States and Europe to
judge and evaluate other countries.
ED
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this chapter, students will be able to do the following:
1.1 Define comparative politics and illustrate the value and usefulness of studying it.
??
1.2 Outline the steps involved in doing comparative political analysis.
1.3 Analyze wealth and happiness as measures of the good society.
1.4 Define and apply the capabilities approach.
1.5 Analyze criticisms of the capabilities approach.
1
, Chapter Outline
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Some countries do a much better job than others at creating conditions in which
ST
their citizens can live well and fulfill their potential.
B. These differences have dramatic consequences for people’s lives.
1. In 2008, twice as many infants died in their first year of life in Zimbabwe than
in neighboring Botswana in Central Africa.
UV
2. Citizens’ life expectancy was 15 years longer in Botswana than Zimbabwe.
C. Why do such differences exist?
D. Comparative politics provides a way to answer this question by examining why
societies are organized in different ways and what effects these differences have.
E. Comparative politics is a subfield of political science that is sometimes confused
IA
with international relations.
1. Comparative politics focuses on politics within countries.
2. International relations focuses on politics among countries.
3. The border between the two subfields is porous, however, and politics among
?_
countries can affect politics within countries.
II. THE LOGIC AND PRACTICE OF COMPARATIVE ANALYIS
A. Doing comparative analysis is not limited to a course in comparative politics.
AP
B. People do comparative analysis throughout their lives.
1. Students compare colleges when deciding where to apply.
2. Men and women make comparisons when they decide who they want to date.
C. Comparative political analysis differs from comparison in everyday life by using
a systematic process. Its main components are:
PR
1. Hypotheses
a. State relationships that we expect to find among variables.
b. They often take the form of “if, then” statements, such as “if a country’s
wealth increases, then its citizens will be healthier.”
OV
2. A hypothesis has a dependent variable, or what we are trying to explain, and
an independent variable, or what we believe explains them. In the hypothesis,
“the wealthier a country is, the healthier its citizens are,” wealth is the
independent variable, and health is the dependent variable.
3. To test hypotheses, we need to operationalize variables by finding specific,
ED
concrete ways of measuring concepts.
a. We can define health, the dependent variable, by using life expectancy.
b. We can define wealth, the independent variable, by using gross domestic
product (GDP) per capita.
4. Correlation is not causation.
??
a. In the example we have just used, GDP per capita is correlated with life
expectancy; the higher the GDP per capita, the longer the life expectancy,
but this correlation does not prove that increases in GDP per capita cause
longer life expectancy.
b. Ice cream consumption was correlated with the number of polio cases in
the 1950s. This did not mean that ice cream caused polio.
2
ED
OV
PR
AP
?_
IA
UV
ST
, TABLE OF CONTENTS
Instructor's Manual & Test Bank: The Good Society: An
Introduction to Comparative Politics, 3rd Edition
Authors: Alan Draper, Ansil Ramsay (2015)
ST
Chapter 1. Comparative Politics and the Good Society
UV
Chapter 2. The State
Chapter 3. State and Society
Chapter 4. Political Culture and Identity
IA
Chapter 5. Political Economy
Chapter 6. Authoritarianism
?_
Chapter 7. Democracy
Chapter 8. Economic and Human Development
Chapter 9. Developed Countries and the Good Society
AP
Chapter 10. Less-Developed Countries and the Good Society
Chapter 11. Communism, Postcommunism, and the Good Society
PR
OV
ED
?
?
, Chapter 1. Comparative Politics and the Good Society
Chapter Overview
ST
The chapter begins with the question of why some countries are better than others at creating
conditions in which citizens can achieve their potential. It then suggests comparative politics can
help answer this question. The introduction to the chapter explains what comparative politics is
and how it differs from international relations, with which it is often confused.
UV
The second section of the chapter introduces students to the logic and practice of comparative
analysis. It begins by discussing hypotheses, independent and dependent variables,
operationalizing variables, and using controls. It then explains three methods of comparative
analysis: using case studies, comparative case studies, and comparing many countries. It
IA
provides examples of how each method has been used. This section explains the difference
between correlation and causation and between empirical and normative judgment.
The third section considers two visions of a good society, one using GDP per capita as a measure
?_
of success and the other using national happiness as a measure of success. It finds both wanting.
GDP per capita includes goods and services that are not indicators of a good society, omits
behavior many believe is desirable, and does not take into account how income is distributed in a
population. Happiness measures do not examine the different ways people find happiness, have
AP
difficulty separating out cultural effects on how people report happiness in surveys, and
discriminate against very deprived citizens who tend to have lower standards for judging their
happiness than wealthier people.
The following section makes the case that the capability approach provides the most useful way
PR
of measuring the good society. The approach focuses upon individuals’ freedom to live the kind
of lives they value. Doing so requires four basic capabilities: physical well-being, informed
decision making, safety, and being able to participate effectively in the political choices that
determine one’s life.
OV
The final section of the chapter responds to criticisms of the capability approach. The section
argues that the approach is not too idealistic, is not contrary to human nature, and is not guilty of
cultural imperialism, using culturally-biased ideas argued from the United States and Europe to
judge and evaluate other countries.
ED
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this chapter, students will be able to do the following:
1.1 Define comparative politics and illustrate the value and usefulness of studying it.
??
1.2 Outline the steps involved in doing comparative political analysis.
1.3 Analyze wealth and happiness as measures of the good society.
1.4 Define and apply the capabilities approach.
1.5 Analyze criticisms of the capabilities approach.
1
, Chapter Outline
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Some countries do a much better job than others at creating conditions in which
ST
their citizens can live well and fulfill their potential.
B. These differences have dramatic consequences for people’s lives.
1. In 2008, twice as many infants died in their first year of life in Zimbabwe than
in neighboring Botswana in Central Africa.
UV
2. Citizens’ life expectancy was 15 years longer in Botswana than Zimbabwe.
C. Why do such differences exist?
D. Comparative politics provides a way to answer this question by examining why
societies are organized in different ways and what effects these differences have.
E. Comparative politics is a subfield of political science that is sometimes confused
IA
with international relations.
1. Comparative politics focuses on politics within countries.
2. International relations focuses on politics among countries.
3. The border between the two subfields is porous, however, and politics among
?_
countries can affect politics within countries.
II. THE LOGIC AND PRACTICE OF COMPARATIVE ANALYIS
A. Doing comparative analysis is not limited to a course in comparative politics.
AP
B. People do comparative analysis throughout their lives.
1. Students compare colleges when deciding where to apply.
2. Men and women make comparisons when they decide who they want to date.
C. Comparative political analysis differs from comparison in everyday life by using
a systematic process. Its main components are:
PR
1. Hypotheses
a. State relationships that we expect to find among variables.
b. They often take the form of “if, then” statements, such as “if a country’s
wealth increases, then its citizens will be healthier.”
OV
2. A hypothesis has a dependent variable, or what we are trying to explain, and
an independent variable, or what we believe explains them. In the hypothesis,
“the wealthier a country is, the healthier its citizens are,” wealth is the
independent variable, and health is the dependent variable.
3. To test hypotheses, we need to operationalize variables by finding specific,
ED
concrete ways of measuring concepts.
a. We can define health, the dependent variable, by using life expectancy.
b. We can define wealth, the independent variable, by using gross domestic
product (GDP) per capita.
4. Correlation is not causation.
??
a. In the example we have just used, GDP per capita is correlated with life
expectancy; the higher the GDP per capita, the longer the life expectancy,
but this correlation does not prove that increases in GDP per capita cause
longer life expectancy.
b. Ice cream consumption was correlated with the number of polio cases in
the 1950s. This did not mean that ice cream caused polio.
2
