Angela Chou Has Been Asked to Investigate the Determinants of Poverty

question 103

Multiple Choice

Angela Chou has been asked to investigate the determinants of poverty in Ontario communities.
She collected data on 60 communities from Statistics Canada. She selected the percentage of poor
Persons living under the poverty line [Poor (%) ], measured by Low Income Cut-Off, designed by
Statistics Canada as a measure of poverty for a community, as the dependent variable. The
Independent variables selected are percent of single families in each community, the
Unemployment rate in each community, percent of population in the community holding a bachelor's
Degree as their highest level of education attained, and percent of population holding a High
School Diploma as their highest level of education attained.
Given the regression equation Poor (%) = -3.81 + 0.798 Single-Families (%) + 0.624 Unemployment
Rate (%) - 0.170 Bachelor's Degree (%) - 0.003 High School (%)
Which single event would have the strongest effect in reducing the % poor in Ontario?

• A) Decreasing the % of single families by 5%.
• B) Decreasing the Unemployment rate by 5%.
• C) Increasing the % of persons with a Bachelor's Degree by 10%.
• D) Decreasing the % of persons with a High School Diploma by 40%.
• E) Increasing the % of persons with a Bachelor's Degree by 15%.

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Definitions:

Political Beliefs

Individual or collective opinions and convictions about political systems, policies, and leaders.

Plasticity

The idea that abilities, personality, and other human characteristics are moldable, and thus can change.

Critical Periods

Specific times during early life when the presence or absence of certain experiences can have profound and lasting effects on the development of physiological or behavioural traits.

Developmental Change

Developmental change encompasses the physical, cognitive, and emotional growth and transformations that occur in human beings throughout their lifespan, from birth to old age.