Last visit was: 08 Jul 2025, 10:28 It is currently 08 Jul 2025, 10:28
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
User avatar
joshnsit
Joined: 29 Oct 2008
Last visit: 19 Oct 2017
Posts: 238
Own Kudos:
1,360
 [57]
Given Kudos: 34
Location: United States
Concentration: Marketing, Technology
Posts: 238
Kudos: 1,360
 [57]
9
Kudos
Add Kudos
48
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Most Helpful Reply
User avatar
IanStewart
User avatar
GMAT Tutor
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Last visit: 08 Jul 2025
Posts: 4,140
Own Kudos:
10,593
 [13]
Given Kudos: 97
 Q51  V47
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 4,140
Kudos: 10,593
 [13]
10
Kudos
Add Kudos
3
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
General Discussion
User avatar
amit2k9
Joined: 08 May 2009
Last visit: 18 Jun 2017
Posts: 538
Own Kudos:
623
 [4]
Given Kudos: 10
Status:There is always something new !!
Affiliations: PMI,QAI Global,eXampleCG
Posts: 538
Kudos: 623
 [4]
4
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
vivesomnium
Joined: 09 Feb 2011
Last visit: 18 Mar 2018
Posts: 174
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 13
Concentration: General Management, Social Entrepreneurship
Schools: HBS '14 (A)
GMAT 1: 770 Q50 V47
Schools: HBS '14 (A)
GMAT 1: 770 Q50 V47
Posts: 174
Kudos: 488
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
The argument is on effective shaping of global economic policy
A: talks of US- beyond the scope of the question and argument
D: Talks of the bank being necessary to propsperity of economy -nothing indicates this in the argument
E: china having greater share is not an assumption of the argument, but an implication.
C: is rewording author's argument, but it misses the important part of question- the global economy. argument is saying proportionate allocation is better, FOR SHAPING GLOBAL ECONOMY

B brings that into the picture.
User avatar
joshnsit
Joined: 29 Oct 2008
Last visit: 19 Oct 2017
Posts: 238
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 34
Location: United States
Concentration: Marketing, Technology
Posts: 238
Kudos: 1,360
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
vivesomnium
The argument is on effective shaping of global economic policy
A: talks of US- beyond the scope of the question and argument
D: Talks of the bank being necessary to propsperity of economy -nothing indicates this in the argument
E: china having greater share is not an assumption of the argument, but an implication.
C: is rewording author's argument, but it misses the important part of question- the global economy. argument is saying proportionate allocation is better, FOR SHAPING GLOBAL ECONOMY

B brings that into the picture.

@Amit2k9 and vivesomnium

Isn't B a simple reformat of conclusion of A? Can an assumption be same as conslusion in an argument?
User avatar
joshnsit
Joined: 29 Oct 2008
Last visit: 19 Oct 2017
Posts: 238
Own Kudos:
1,360
 [1]
Given Kudos: 34
Location: United States
Concentration: Marketing, Technology
Posts: 238
Kudos: 1,360
 [1]
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
IanStewart
joshnsit

Isn't B a simple reformat of conclusion of A? Can an assumption be same as conslusion in an argument?

I don't think you've correctly identified the conclusion.

First, in any of these 'policy proposal' questions, it is absolutely crucial to identify the *goal* of the policy. Here, a proposal is made so that the bank can 'more effectively shape global economic policy.' The conclusion of the argument is that voting shares should be changed. The assumption then is that voting shares actually matter; they affect how successfully the bank shapes economic policy, which is why B is the correct answer.

To give a simpler example, if I say 'in order to improve your GMAT score, you should do practice problems', I'm assuming that doing practice problems actually has an effect on your GMAT score.

@Ian
Your example makes sense, though this is a revelation. I always used to assume( :wink: a bad one :oops: ) that conclusions always happen independently of the premises in individual sentences.

Stimulus says:
The Intercontinental Bank should reallocate the voting shares of its members [highlight]in order to more effectively shape global economic policy.[/highlight]

According to you, I can strip down the highlighted portion to know my actual conclusion. Am I correct?

What more baffles me is the language used in [highlight]question stem.[/highlight] That also seemed a rephrase of conclusion or assumption, whatever we agree to say.

As a general direction, should we assume the part in question stem to be conclusion or not?

I have posted a similar CR at cr-two-genes-114078.html
Does it follow the same logic?
User avatar
IanStewart
User avatar
GMAT Tutor
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Last visit: 08 Jul 2025
Posts: 4,140
Own Kudos:
10,593
 [2]
Given Kudos: 97
 Q51  V47
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 4,140
Kudos: 10,593
 [2]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
joshnsit

Stimulus says:
The Intercontinental Bank should reallocate the voting shares of its members [highlight]in order to more effectively shape global economic policy.[/highlight]

I replied to the other thread you linked to above. In these 'policy proposal' questions, there is a conclusion (the recommended course of action) and there is a goal (what that course of action is designed to achieve). So in the sentence above, the conclusion is that the Bank should reallocate voting shares. The goal of that proposal is to allow the Bank to 'more effectively shape economic policy'. The person making this proposal must be assuming that the proposal achieves the goal.
User avatar
subhashghosh
User avatar
Retired Moderator
Joined: 16 Nov 2010
Last visit: 25 Jun 2024
Posts: 899
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 43
Location: United States (IN)
Concentration: Strategy, Technology
Products:
Posts: 899
Kudos: 1,252
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
To add little bit more, the assumption here should strengthen the conclusion. Only B does that. Also, C is an "extreme choice"; the use of "only" suggests so.
User avatar
joshnsit
Joined: 29 Oct 2008
Last visit: 19 Oct 2017
Posts: 238
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 34
Location: United States
Concentration: Marketing, Technology
Posts: 238
Kudos: 1,360
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
subhashghosh
To add little bit more, the assumption here should strengthen the conclusion. Only B does that. Also, C is an "extreme choice"; the use of "only" suggests so.

Hey guys. The OA is B here.
Let me know if OE is needed.
User avatar
IanStewart
User avatar
GMAT Tutor
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Last visit: 08 Jul 2025
Posts: 4,140
Own Kudos:
10,593
 [1]
Given Kudos: 97
 Q51  V47
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 4,140
Kudos: 10,593
 [1]
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
joshnsit

Hey guys. The OA is C here.
Let me know if OE is needed.

There is no chance that C is the correct answer to this question; if the book has C as their answer, throw it away and find better material. The stem in no way assumes that voting shares need to be allocated in a way which is *precisely* proportional to a country's economic contribution. In any case, C is not an assumption at all; it's a rephrasing of the conclusion, but using more extreme language. I imagine you meant to say that the answer is B, or perhaps there is a typo in the source.
User avatar
subhashghosh
User avatar
Retired Moderator
Joined: 16 Nov 2010
Last visit: 25 Jun 2024
Posts: 899
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 43
Location: United States (IN)
Concentration: Strategy, Technology
Products:
Posts: 899
Kudos: 1,252
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Ian, I don't know how my quote is replaced with that of joshnsit in your reply, I said that B is the correct answer.
avatar
HSPA
Joined: 21 Apr 2011
Last visit: 29 Jan 2018
Posts: 5
Own Kudos:
1
 [1]
Given Kudos: 1
Posts: 5
Kudos: 1
 [1]
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
B it shall be.
Kindly do a negation on both B and C. See which negated statement weakens the conclusion.

Conclusion:The Intercontinental Bank should reallocate the voting shares of its members in order to more effectively shape global economic policy.

Negated B: allocation of voting shares has no effect in shaping global economic policy. [We cannot find a better weakner]

Negated C: Voting shares proportional to country's contribution is in-appropriate for the bank. [Shaping economic policy is not at all impacted] ... Also kindly look for extreme words like ONLY, MUST.. a few more

Technique : Courtesy - Powerscore bible
User avatar
IanStewart
User avatar
GMAT Tutor
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Last visit: 08 Jul 2025
Posts: 4,140
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 97
 Q51  V47
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 4,140
Kudos: 10,593
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
subhashghosh
Ian, I don't know how my quote is replaced with that of joshnsit in your reply, I said that B is the correct answer.

Sorry about that! I quoted joshnsit's post which quoted yours, and I didn't erase the right quote tags in my post. Fixed now. :)
User avatar
joshnsit
Joined: 29 Oct 2008
Last visit: 19 Oct 2017
Posts: 238
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 34
Location: United States
Concentration: Marketing, Technology
Posts: 238
Kudos: 1,360
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
IanStewart
subhashghosh
Ian, I don't know how my quote is replaced with that of joshnsit in your reply, I said that B is the correct answer.

Sorry about that! I quoted joshnsit's post which quoted yours, and I didn't erase the right quote tags in my post. Fixed now. :)

I am extremely sorry guys... Mea culpa.. I messed up while closing 2-3 threads where I was posting OAs for all of them. :oops: I have corrected in my earlier post as well. Thanks for correcting.

The OA is B.
User avatar
joshnsit
Joined: 29 Oct 2008
Last visit: 19 Oct 2017
Posts: 238
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 34
Location: United States
Concentration: Marketing, Technology
Posts: 238
Kudos: 1,360
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
IanStewart
joshnsit

Hey guys. The OA is C here.
Let me know if OE is needed.

There is no chance that C is the correct answer to this question; if the book has C as their answer, throw it away and find better material. The stem in no way assumes that voting shares need to be allocated in a way which is *precisely* proportional to a country's economic contribution. In any case, C is not an assumption at all; it's a rephrasing of the conclusion, but using more extreme language. I imagine you meant to say that the answer is B, or perhaps there is a typo in the source.

You stand correct. I did a typo here. The source is MGMAT btw. The OA is B.. :roll:
User avatar
Thoughtosphere
Joined: 02 Jul 2012
Last visit: 24 Nov 2021
Posts: 149
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 84
Location: India
Schools: IIMC  (A)
GMAT 1: 720 Q50 V38
GPA: 2.6
WE:Information Technology (Consulting)
Products:
Schools: IIMC  (A)
GMAT 1: 720 Q50 V38
Posts: 149
Kudos: 775
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
joshnsit
Editorial: The Intercontinental Bank should reallocate the voting shares of its members in order to more effectively shape global economic policy. For example, China comprises about 15 percent of the world's gross domestic product but has only a 3 percent voting share, whereas Belgium, with less than 1 percent of the global economy, has a 2 percent share.

Which of the following is an assumption upon which the editorial's authors depend in suggesting a way to more effectively shape global economic policy?
(A) The United States has a larger voting share of the Intercontinental Bank than does China or Belgium.
(B) The specific allocation of voting shares factors into the Intercontinental Bank's effectiveness in shaping global economic policy.
(C) Only voting shares that are precisely proportional to each country's contribution to the global economy are appropriate for the Intercontinental Bank.
(D) The Intercontinental Bank is necessary to the maintenance of a prosperous global economy.
(E) As one of the fastest growing economies, China should have a larger voting share in the Intercontinental Bank.


The statement says that the Int. Con. bank should reallocate the voting shares of its members in order to more effectively shape global economic policy. Then the statement states an example to elaborate on the sentence.

1. Out of scope
2. If we negate this, it would imply that the allocation of voting share does not factors the effectiveness of the bank in shaping the global economy. The whole argument falls flat.
3. This has two flaws. First, the voting shares are not appropriate to the bank. Second, the voting shares are not precisely proportional to country's share. The statement doesn't mention that the share and the GDP proportion should be equal.
4. If we negate this, the statement still stand
5. China was just an example, it can not be included in the assumption.
User avatar
mvictor
User avatar
Board of Directors
Joined: 17 Jul 2014
Last visit: 14 Jul 2021
Posts: 2,127
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 236
Location: United States (IL)
Concentration: Finance, Economics
GMAT 1: 650 Q49 V30
GPA: 3.92
WE:General Management (Transportation)
Products:
GMAT 1: 650 Q49 V30
Posts: 2,127
Kudos: 1,248
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
since this is an assumption type of question, the correct answer should present new information that is in the scope of the passage and that if negated, the conclusion would shatter.

(A) The United States has a larger voting share of the Intercontinental Bank than does China or Belgium.
the argument is not concerned with the fact that US has more voting shares. OFS.

(B) The specific allocation of voting shares factors into the Intercontinental Bank's effectiveness in shaping global economic policy.
if this is not true, then the argument that since C has 15% of WGDP is irrelevant, and cannot be used as an premise to support the conclusion that the voting shares should be changed. looks good so far.

(C) Only voting shares that are precisely proportional to each country's contribution to the global economy are appropriate for the Intercontinental Bank.
which shares are appropriate for the IC is irrelevant and out of scope.

(D) The Intercontinental Bank is necessary to the maintenance of a prosperous global economy.
while it might be true, the author does not assume that.

(E) As one of the fastest growing economies, China should have a larger voting share in the Intercontinental Bank.
this might be something inferred from the argument. Since inferred information cannot be the assumption, E is not correct.


after POE, the only answer choice that looks good is B.
avatar
devikeerthan
Joined: 21 Jun 2015
Last visit: 26 Sep 2017
Posts: 27
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 28
Location: India
Concentration: Finance, General Management
GMAT 1: 660 Q50 V30
GPA: 3.32
WE:Programming (Computer Software)
GMAT 1: 660 Q50 V30
Posts: 27
Kudos: 30
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
B The specific allocation of voting shares 'does not' factors into the Intercontinental Bank's effectiveness in shaping global economic policy. -- crashes the conclusion.
avatar
jaisonsunny77
Joined: 05 Jan 2019
Last visit: 25 Aug 2021
Posts: 459
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 28
Posts: 459
Kudos: 378
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Editorial: The Intercontinental Bank should reallocate the voting shares of its members in order to more effectively shape global economic policy. For example, China comprises about 15 percent of the world's gross domestic product but has only a 3 percent voting share, whereas Belgium, with less than 1 percent of the global economy, has a 2 percent share.

The conclusion: The Intercontinental Bank should reallocate the voting shares to more effectively shape global economic policy.

Key idea: If we analyze the conclusion carefully, we get to notice that the author assumes a link between (reallocation of voting shares) and (effectiveness in shaping global policy)

Which of the following is an assumption upon which the editorial's authors depend in suggesting a way to more effectively shape global economic policy?

(A) The United States has a larger voting share of the Intercontinental Bank than does China or Belgium.
- The voting share of the United States is not mentioned anywhere in the passage.
(B) The specific allocation of voting shares factors into the Intercontinental Bank's effectiveness in shaping global economic policy. - This is what we are looking for. Hence, (B) is the right answer choice.
(C) Only voting shares that are precisely proportional to each country's contribution to the global economy are appropriate for the Intercontinental Bank.
- it is certainly possible that the Intercontinental bank uses several variables in addition to "allocation of voting rights" to shape economic policy. Moreover, in the context of this passage, we cannot be absolutely certain that 'proportionality of voting shares' is the only variable used by the bank.
(D) The Intercontinental Bank is necessary to the maintenance of a prosperous global economy. - the passage deals with "shaping economic policy", not with "the prosperity of global economy". What is regarded as a great policy may actually lead to non-expectant results.
(E) As one of the fastest growing economies, China should have a larger voting share in the Intercontinental Bank.
- irrelevant to the conclusion drawn
avatar
GMAT0010
Joined: 17 Sep 2019
Last visit: 08 Dec 2022
Posts: 108
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 516
GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V38
GMAT 2: 680 Q49 V33
GMAT 2: 680 Q49 V33
Posts: 108
Kudos: 54
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
This is another typical correlation - causality problem.
Here, the logic follows:
voting shares -> GDP
But it should not be the other way around. GDP can't cause voting shares
So that makes C wrong
B is the answer
:D
 1   2   
Moderators:
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7349 posts
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
235 posts