Why has department store business declined in the US along with department store business in England, Germany, and Italy? How has the profitability paradox affected this decline in profits? How has the profitability paradox changed the way retailers do business? List and describe at least two ways the industry has prevailed during this time of retail flux (instability)?

2. Why was the Caribbean Basin Initiative crucial for Reaganomics? Explain the significance of Manuel Noriega the Contra Army Sandinistas and Fidel Castro? What was the significance of the Panama Canal? What is the significance of Noriega extradition to Paris, France? How does this relate back to the time when he was the dictator of Panama? How does this relate to the somewhat recent political situation in Nepal and the Maoist revolutionaries?

3. Why is China considered a major player in apparel production? How does artificially devaluing and inflating its currency (the Yuan) help China? Give two examples, one where devaluing the Yuan and one inflating the Yuan has created an advantage for China and has hurt the export/import country. Use a citation from Rosen along with an outside source to defend your answer.

4. Discuss how job loss, lower wages, pressure for retail profitability, and trade liberalization affect an overall benefit to consumers who purchase apparel goods. Are consumers actually paying lower prices for apparel? If so, then why is high fashion apparel so expensive? Defend your answer with a citation and be sure to include the significance of tariffs.

5. Women have been part of the apparel work force throughout its development that has transitioned into a global entity. Give examples in history when women's wages were not of equal value to those work wages of another industry or her male counterpart. Please cite each reference. Describe how the Lowell Model has shed light on the difficulties of being a woman in a low-wage industry. Please be specific.