PrepTest 135, Section 1, Question 17
Economist: Some critics of the media have contended(61 more words not shown)
The economist's argument is flawed(9 more words not shown)
- Aone's level of(18 more words not shown)
- Bnews reports about(9 more words not shown)
- Cpeople who pay(22 more words not shown)
- Dpeople who have(17 more words not shown)
- Ean economic slowdown(22 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
My bank account and the news aren't sealed off from each other.
If reports make me worry that the economy is weakening, I might start worrying about my own next paycheck. Then I might eat out less and save more. A restaurant gets less business, and reduced spending can affect other people too. That's a plausible path from bad news to the economic harm the critics describe.
The economist points to a close relationship between spending and confidence in one's own immediate situation. But that doesn't break the path. What if confidence in the wider economy helps shape how people see their personal situation? The reported relationship could fit the critics' account rather than refute it.
What we’re looking for
There could also be more than one influence on spending. Personal finances and economic news needn't compete for the title of sole cause. For the flaw question, look for the connection the economist overlooks between the two kinds of confidence.
Working the answers
- A
This goes in the wrong direction for the needed response. It says confidence in my personal situation shapes how I perceive economic reports. We need to see how a pessimistic view of the overall economy could feed into pessimism about my own situation, which then relates to spending. A doesn't supply that missing path.
- B
An inaccurate report could still frighten people and affect their spending. An accurate report could do that too. Whether the reports are true doesn't settle whether they can influence confidence and thereby harm the economy.
- C
Accurate judgments by people who ignore economic reports don't establish what those reports do to the people who encounter them. The economist needs a reason to dismiss the critics' proposed influence, not a fact about how accurately another group assesses its prospects.
- DCorrect
People who lack confidence in the overall economy generally view their own immediate situations pessimistically. That links the concern the critics discuss with the personal outlook the economist's studies measure.
Negative reports could damage confidence in the economy, that pessimism could extend to personal circumstances, and personal pessimism could affect spending. D doesn't prove every step is always causal, but it shows why the study's finding doesn't rule out the critics' account.
- E
This compares an actual slowdown that surprises people with one they expect. The argument concerns how news and confidence can affect spending. Whether advance warning reduces the damage of a slowdown doesn't settle whether pessimistic reports can also influence people's behavior.
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