Quote:
A recession is not caused by any economic force
other than a nationwide loss of confidence. If the
economy is perceived as being unstable, banks are
conservative in lending money, investors take fewer
risks, and hence economic growth is slowed.
Which of the following, if true, would most
strengthen the argument above?
A recession is severely affected by the response
of the Federal Reserve’s setting of
interest rates.
A recession can be brought on by the failure of
a major bank that had been loaning money.
Slowed economic growth is not the only result
of a recession.
When investors begin taking greater risks it is
enough to stimulate economic growth.
It is a fallacy to assume that economic growth
is necessary for economic stability.
I'm going to go with D.
Here are my thoughts:
Given - Recession is caused from a loss of confidence. If the economy appears to be bad, investors / banks get conservative and therefore the economy slows (recession).
Which option strengthens the opinion?
A - out of scope; no mention of the Fed.
B - while it may be true, a failed bank bringing about a recession does not help the author's argument.
C - out of scope; again, looking for points to help the author's point.
E - out of scope; we don't care about economic stability.
D - tells us that if investors take risks, the economy grows. This mates with the given info. If investors do not take risks, the economy slows. If they take risks, the economy will be stimulated.