AQA A-Level Sociology: Work, Poverty and Welfare
6 exam-style questions with full mark schemes and model answers. Write your own answer and the AI examiner marks it against the mark scheme.
Read Item A below and answer the question that follows.
Item A — written for this exercise
Researchers continue to disagree about why some people remain poor for long periods. One body of work focuses on the values and outlook of the poor themselves, suggesting that growing up in long-term poverty can foster a fatalistic, present-centred way of life that is then passed on to children. Writing for this exercise, one commentator argues that "in neighbourhoods of concentrated worklessness, a settled expectation of dependence can take hold, so that the habits which sustain poverty are learned at home long before a young person ever looks for a job."
Other researchers reject this emphasis. A separate invented survey of low-income households reports the following:
| Main reason given for the household's low income | Share of low-income households (%) |
|---|---|
| Low pay from insecure or part-time work | 38 |
| Unemployment or inability to find work | 22 |
| Sickness or disability | 18 |
| Caring responsibilities (children or relatives) | 14 |
| Inadequate level of benefits | 8 |
These figures are used to argue that poverty is driven chiefly by the labour market and by the level of benefits rather than by the attitudes of the poor.
Question: Applying material from Item A and your knowledge, evaluate the view that poverty is mainly the result of the behaviour and culture of the poor themselves. [20 marks]
Read Item B below and answer the question that follows.
Item B — written for this exercise
The welfare state was founded on the idea that government could lift people out of hardship by collecting taxes from those who can afford to pay and redistributing them as benefits and services to those in need. Writing for this exercise, one commentator notes that "without cash transfers such as pensions, child benefit and means-tested support, the number of households falling below the poverty line would be far higher than it is today." Yet the same commentator records a rival concern: "critics on the right reply that benefits set too high, or paid for too long, can blunt the incentive to find work and may end up sustaining the very dependence they were meant to relieve."
Question: Applying material from Item B, analyse two ways in which the welfare state may affect the extent of poverty. [10 marks]
Outline and explain two ways in which the nature of paid work has changed in recent decades. [10 marks]
Outline three ways in which poverty may be defined or measured. [6 marks]
Outline two groups who are at greater risk of poverty than others. [4 marks]
Outline two criticisms of the New Right view of welfare. [4 marks]