PrepTest 112, Section 1, Question 16
A number of measures indicate the viability of(62 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- AA nation's economic(9 more words not shown)
- BHaving a population(12 more words not shown)
- CEconomic viability does(9 more words not shown)
- DA nation's population(15 more words not shown)
- EA nation's population(18 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
A small country can still have a viable economy. The examples establish that much without requiring us to decide which country has the best economy or why.
What we’re looking for
We first get a list of indicators: the level and growth of output matter most, while unemployment and inflation also matter. Then we get six countries with viable economies and relatively small populations. Switzerland and Austria have about seven million people each; the other four have populations at least a fourth smaller. Those four are the clearest cases below seven million. For the most-supported question, I'd look for that modest conclusion: a country doesn't need a population that large to have a viable economy. The examples show that small countries can succeed, not everything that population size does or doesn't affect.
Working the answers
- A
This goes further than the examples justify. Perhaps population size usually matters a great deal and these small countries succeed despite a disadvantage. That would be compatible with all the facts. Showing that a small population doesn't prevent viability isn't the same as showing that viability is completely independent of population size.
- B
The passage gives us viable countries with small populations. It doesn't say that passing seven million guarantees viability. We have no rule telling us that every larger country succeeds, so B introduces a guarantee the examples don't support.
- CCorrect
Israel, Ireland, Denmark and Finland have populations below seven million, and all four have viable economies. If a population of at least seven million were required, those examples couldn't exist. Their existence establishes that the threshold isn't required.
We don't have to claim small size is an advantage, or that population has no effect. We only have to recognize that these countries meet the economic standard without meeting the proposed population threshold.
- D
The passage identifies output and its growth as important indicators of viability. It doesn't identify population as the main cause of either. Those are different relationships: what tells us how the economy is doing versus what produces its level of output. D supplies a ranking of causes that we weren't given.
- E
We aren't told how strongly population affects any of these measures. Saying output and growth are more significant indicators of viability doesn't tell us that population has a greater effect on them than on unemployment or inflation. E turns a comparison of indicators into a comparison of population's influence.
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