Many historians consider the Marshall Plan one of the United States’

Question

Many historians consider the Marshall Plan one of the United States’ major foreign policy successes of the last century. Behrman argues that the financial support provided by the United States was largely responsible for the recovery of the participating European economies aer the Second World War. He credits the  “multiplier effect”  with generating four to six additional dollars of European production for each Marshall Plan dollar distributed. Farmers, shopkeepers, and manufacturers would purchase equipment and materials through their national banks, which would then submit a request for Marshall Plan funds. Upon approval, the U.S. supplier would be paid from the Marshall Plan, and the national bank would retain the local currency, which could be used for infrastructure repair and other national recovery efforts.

However, other scholars are more critical. Although Ferguson concedes Behrman’s economic analysis, he disputes Behrman’s claim that the Marshall Plan was crucial to Europe’s recovery by outlining the many other programs and policies that were already in place. Ferguson identifies the political impact of the Marshall Plan as the most significant result; the citizens of Western Europe saw the United States as assisting them through the difficult process of economic restoration and strengthened their connections with their transatlantic ally. LaFeber and other revisionist historians are even more critical, describing the Marshall Plan as economic imperialism, a way to bind Western Europe’s economy to that of the United States and to assist the recovery of U.S. industry, which had to return to producing domestic needs aer several years of manufacturing armaments and military supplies, rather than as a mechanism for the restoration of the Western European national economies.    1 
 1. The passage suggests that Ferguson would be most likely to agree with which of the following claims about the “multiplier effect” ( Highlighted )?

A) It was unlikely to have generated the returns for the European national economies that Behrman claims.
B) It may have been helpful to the European national economies, but it was not the most important outcome of the Marshall Plan.
C) It was the most controversial aspect of the Marshall Plan, generating intense resistance from those countries that chose not to participate.
D) It was a crucial part of the Marshall Plan, being substantially responsible for the recovery of participating Western European economies.
E) It was designed primarily to assist the recovery of industry in the United States, despite its benefits to Western European national economies.

2 
 2. Which of the following statements best describes the function of the last sentence in the passage?

A) It provides evidence that might undermine the viewpoint of the historians mentioned in the first sentence.
B) It resolves the conflict over the efficacy of the Marshall Plan introduced in the first paragraph.
C) It clarifies some of the reasons the Marshall Plan is generally considered to have been a success.
D) It qualifies a claim made earlier in the passage about return earned on each dollar spent by the Marshall Plan.
E) It supports a claim made earlier in the passage about the importance of the Marshall Plan to the economic recovery of Western Europe.

RC Butler 2021  -  Practice 2 RCs Daily.   
Passage # 30 Date: 21-Jan-2021
 This question is a part of RC Butler 2021 .  Click here for Details

nsrivastav064 · Answer

Sajjad1994  : Request you to post the detailed solution for the first question

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

1. The passage suggests that Ferguson would be most likely to agree with which of the following claims about the “multiplier effect” (Highlighted)?

Difficulty Level:   650

Explanation

STEP 1: ANALYZE THE QUESTION STEM

The key word  “suggests”  identifies this as an Inference question. The correct answer will be fully supported by information in the passage about Ferguson’s point of view on the  “multiplier effect.”

STEP 2: RESEARCH THE RELEVANT TEXT

The additional context clue  “multiplier effect”  and the line number in the question direct your research to the  first paragraph.  The first words of the sentence in line identify the description of the  “multiplier effect”  that follows as that of Behrman, not Ferguson. Skim this section to refresh your memory of the  “multiplier effect.”  The passage map locates Ferguson’s opinion in the beginning of the second paragraph, so reread that section as well, specifically looking for Ferguson’s view of Behrman’s discussion of the  “multiplier effect.”

STEP 3: MAKE A PREDICTION

Behrman describes the  “multiplier effect”  as the mechanism by which each dollar of distributed Marshall Plan funds resulted in an additional four to six dollars made available for use by the European national banks. Lines in the passage state  “Ferguson concedes Behrman’s economic analysis,”  but Ferguson goes on to dispute Behrman’s conclusion. Predict that the correct answer will include  “the multiplier effect is valid,” “Behrman’s conclusion is incorrect,”  or both. Notice that, once you clearly understand the relationship of the two historians’ views, a detailed understanding of the mechanism of the  “multiplier effect”  is unnecessary.

STEP 6: EVALUATE THE ANSWER CHOICES

(B)  matches both concepts in the prediction and is correct.

(A)  is a distortion of Ferguson’s view. Ferguson agrees with Behrman’s economic analysis, but not Behrman’s assessment of the impact of the  “multiplier effect.”

(C)  is not mentioned in the passage and is incorrect. Be careful if you happen to know that some nonparticipating countries were hostile to the Marshall Plan; the text only discusses the United States and the participating Western European countries.

(D)  and  (E)  are misused details from the passage that answer the wrong question.  (D)  is Behrman’s view, and  (E)  is LaFeber’s view; neither is Ferguson’s.

Answer: B

Anush56 · Answer

Sajjad1994  Can you please provide the Solution / Explanation for question 2? 
I feel A should not be the answer because it doesn't seem like there is an evidence in the last sentence of the passage. 
I arrived at this because there should have been data/event to back up evidence. It seems like an opinion or a view point is stated but not proved. Can you please tell me what I might be missing here?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

2. Which of the following statements best describes the function of the last sentence in the passage?

Difficulty Level:   650

Explanation

STEP 1: ANALYZE THE QUESTION STEM

The phrase  “best describes the function . . .”  identifies this as a Logic question. The correct answer to a Logic question will explain how or why the author uses a feature of the passage, not the content of the feature. The context clue  “last sentence in the passage”  identifies the feature.

STEP 2: RESEARCH THE RELEVANT TEXT

Always begin the research for a Logic question with the purpose of the passage; then predict the relationship of the specified feature to the author’s purpose. From the passage map, the author’s purpose is to  “describe three historians’ views”  of the Marshall Plan. The final sentence is one of those views, that of LaFeber, who is described as critical of the motives of the United States in offering the Marshall Plan; he believes the Marshall Plan was primarily intended to bind the U.S. and European economies and to revitalize industry in the United States. Consult the passage map to refresh your memory of the opinions of the other two historians:  “Many historians”  think it was very good; Behrman is firmly in the  “Marshall Plan was a success”  camp; and Ferguson is somewhere in the middle.

STEP 3: MAKE A PREDICTION

A good prediction would be to describe a historian’s view that is critical of the Marshall Plan.

STEP 4: EVALUATE THE ANSWER CHOICES

(A)  matches the prediction and is correct. The  “many”  historians in the first sentence believe the Marshall Plan was a major foreign policy success. LaFeber’s view undermines this idea by pointing out the possibility that the intended benefit of the Marshall Plan devolved to the United States, not Europe.

(B)  is not discussed in the passage and is incorrect. The author simply presents the differing views of the historians and does not  “resolve”  them.

(C)  and  (E)  are 180, or opposite, choices. In the last sentence, LaFeber is challenging, not supporting, the idea that the Marshall Plan was a foreign-policy success.

(D) is a misused detail from the text. The passage discusses the  “multiplier effect”  that impacted the return on the dollars spent on the Marshall Plan, but LaFeber’s view on the  “multiplier effect”  is not mentioned.

Answer: A

ayindrilaB · Answer

I'm not convinced by Q2 answer is A. As per my understanding, LaFaber did not question the success of Marshal plan, rather he questioned the intent of Marshal plan. The first sentence of the paragraph says that "Many historians consider the Marshall Plan one of the United States’ major foreign policy successes of the last century.". I don't see LaFaber contending that the plan failed, rather he is saying the plan helped to revive US economy and not the Western Europe economy.

(A) would have been more appropriate if it said "It provides evidence that might undermine the viewpoint of the historians mentioned in the first ~~sentence~~ paragraph".

@Experts, please let me know your views.

(A) would have been more appropriate if it said "It provides evidence that might undermine the viewpoint of the historians mentioned in the first  sentence    paragraph  ".

@Experts, please let me know your views.

sanjitscorps18 · Answer

The  Historians  are only mentioned in the first line. After that, the view of  Behrman  has been highlighted and then the  multiplier effect  has been described. Hence the overall passage is not the view of the  Historians .

Hope this clarifies!

THIS9 · Answer

I'm echoing this viewpoint. To choose A as the answer would have to assume that the "historians" mentioned in the first sentence ONLY considered Marshal Plan a success if it provided economic value to Europe, and can we really make that assumption here (in setting of answering RC questions on GMAT)? In other words, if we hold no assumptions to the the definition of "success" held by the "historians", they could be considering the Marshal Plan a success in the same way that LaFeber's interpretation of the Marshall Plan. So he really isn't undermining the viewpoint of the historians, but questioning its intent, like "yeah it's successful alright, but not in the way you may think it is. This is the real reason why it's considered a success." Am I reach a little too hard for answer C here?

Many historians consider the Marshall Plan one of the United States’

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

Many historians consider the Marshall Plan one of the United States’

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards