Many researchers regard Thailand's recent economic growth, as reflecte

Question

Many researchers regard Thailand's recent economic growth, as reflected by its gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates, as an example of the success of a modern technological development strategy based on the market economics of industrialized countries. Yet by focusing solely on aggregate economic growth data as the measure of Thailand's development, these researchers have overlooked the economic impact of rural development projects that improve people's daily lives at the village level- such as the cooperative raising of water buffalo, improved sanitation, and the development of food crops both for consumption and for sale at local markets; such projects are not adequately reflected in the country's GDP. These researchers, influenced by Robert Heilbroner's now outdated development theory, tend to view nontechnological development as an obstacle to progress. Heilbroner's theory has become doctrine in some economics textbooks: for example, Monte Palmer disparages nontechnological rural development projects as inhibiting constructive change. Yet as Ann Kelleher's two recent case studies of the Thai villages Non Muang and Dong Keng illustrate, the nontechnological-versus-technological dichotomy can lead researchers not only to overlook real advances achieved by rural development projects but also mistakenly to conclude that because such advances are initiated by rural leaders and are based on traditional values and practices, they retard  " real "  economic development.   1  D 
 1. The primary purpose of the passage is to:

A.explain the true reasons for the increase in the Thailand's GDP 
B. argue for the adoption of certain rural development projects 
C.question the value of technological development in Thailand 
D.criticize certain assumptions about economic development in Thailand 
E.compare traditional and modern development strategies in Thailand

2 
 C 
 2. The author of the passage cites the work of Palmer in order to give an example of

A.a recent case study of rural development projects in Thai villages 
B.current research that has attempted to reassess Thailand's economic development 
C.an economics textbook that views nontechnological development as an obstacle to progress
D.the prevalence of the view that regards nontechnological development as beneficial but inefficient 
E.a portrayal of nontechnological development projects as promoting constructive change

3 
 A 
 3. It can be inferred from the passage that the term “real” in line 36 most likely refers to economic development that is 
 
A.based on a technological development strategy
B. not necessarily favored by most researchers
C. initiated by rural leader
D.a reflection of traditional values and practices
E. difficult to measure statistically

Skywalker18 · Accepted Answer

-The author clearly has an opinion in the passage 
-The author is critical about the assumptions made by economists in assigning the growth of Thailand’s GDP to technological progress

Easy passage , took 2 mins 10 seconds to read and 5 mins 30 seconds in total

1. Answer D

2. “tend to view non technological development as an obstacle to progress. Heilbroner’s theory has become doctrine in some economics textbooks: for example, Monte Palmer disparages non technological rural development projects as inhibiting constructive change”

Option C is a clear word justification of the above and is hence correct.

3. “the nontechnological-versus-technological dichotomy can lead researchers not only to overlook real advances achieved by rural development projects but also mistakenly to conclude that because such advances are initiated by rural leaders and are based on traditional values and practices, they retard ―  real  economic development.”

The author is being critical of the belief that real economic development can only be due to technological development. Hence option A is the right answer choice.

tinyseal · Answer

My answers and explanations are below:
1)D. see the tune noted in this sentence "these research-
ers have overlooked the economic impact of
rural development projects that improves
peopleâ€™s daily lives at the village level"
2)A. "the
nontechnological-versus-technological
dichotomy can lead researchers not only to
overlook real advances achieved by rural
development projects but also mistakenly to
conclude that because such advances are
 initiated by rural leaders and are based on
 traditional values and practices, they retard
â€œrealâ€

qpoo · Answer

D A C

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

D. criticize certain assumptions about economic development in Thailand

The passage talked about using technical and non-tech dev. strategy.
The author obviously pointed out the prevalent view of assuming tech.
dev. is the key to the economic success.

2. It can be inferred from the passage that the term â€œrealâ€

Sumi1010 · Answer

In the 3rd question-  It can be inferred from the passage that the term “real” in line 36 most likely refers to economic development that is 
I am unable to eliminate E and select A.

My thought : The passage says - such projects are  not adequately reflected in the country's GDP  --> Researchers view nontechnological development as an obstacle --> Ann' study says dichotomy can lead researchers 1) to overlook  real  advances achieved by rural development projects 2)mistakenly to conclude that they retard  "real"  economic development.

If real advances ( in Ann's study) refer to advances achieved by rural development i.e something not measured by GDP, the  "real"  economic development should refer to the same . This is what E says.

Skywalker18

ballest127 · Answer

Hi Experts,

I really do not understand why A is correct in Q3?

Please explain.

Thank you.

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

Hi

The answer to Q3 is evident from the preceding few sentences of the passages. For instances, the passage states earlier, "Monte Palmer  disparages nontechnological rural development  projects as inhibiting constructive change". Further, the passage states, "Yet as Ann Kelleher's two recent case studies...illustrate, the  nontechnological-versus-technological dichotomy ...".

These sentences clearly set technological development as being opposed to non-technological, rural development.

Now, in the final sentence referred in the question, " real advances achieved by rural development projects  but also  mistakenly to conclude  that because such advances are initiated by rural leaders and are based on traditional values and practices, they retard "  real  " economic development".

The highlighted word "real" clearly stands in opposition to rural development products, and hence must refer to technological development, which is answer option (A).

Hope this helps.

anshul0130 · Answer

VeritasKarishma  - Can you please help with below queries ?

1. What assumptions refers to in Option D of primary purpose of the passage question ?

As per me, assumption is made by researchers that non-economic development projects don't contribute to Thailand's recent economic growth.

2. What real in last real in the last sentence of the passage most likely refers to economic development ?
3. Can you please help in breaking below sentence from sentence correction perspective ?

Yet as Ann Kelleher’s two recent case studies of the Thai villages Non Muang and Dong Keng illustrate, the nontechnological-versus-technological dichotomy can lead researchers not only to overlook real advances achieved by rural development projects but also mistakenly to conclude that because such advances are initiated by rural leaders and are based on traditional values and practices, they retard “real” economic development.

As per me - Yet is subordinate conjunction and introduces dependent clause, but not able to decipher the structure of sentence between 2 commas i.e. the nontechnological ... values and practices.

Structure is Dependent clause(introduced by yet) ...., Independent clause(introduced by they retard "real" economic development), but what is the role played by the sentence btw two commas.

Thanks,
Anshul

nikitathegreat · Answer

GMATNinja  @veritasKarishma

Can you please explain Q3? What does real means here?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

3. It can be inferred from the passage that the term “real” in line 36 most likely refers to economic development that is

Difficulty Level:   650

Explanation

In the passage, the term  "real"  in the last line refers to a specific view of economic development that is contrasted with nontechnological development. The passage mentions that some researchers influenced by Robert Heilbroner's outdated development theory tend to view nontechnological development as an obstacle to progress. These researchers focus solely on aggregate economic growth data, represented by gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates, as the measure of development.

Therefore, the term  "real"  economic development, as used in the passage, implies economic development that is based on a technological development strategy. The passage criticizes the narrow focus on GDP growth rates and the disregard for nontechnological rural development projects that improve people's daily lives at the village level. By using the term  "real"  economic development, the passage suggests that the researchers' perspective favors technological development strategies over other forms of development.

Answer: A

GMATNinja · Answer

To understand what the word "real" means in line 36, let's start by considering the author's purpose in this passage.

Overall, the author's purpose is to point out an error made by certain researchers. What error? Well, the researchers have "overlooked the economic impact of  rural  development projects." Why have they made this error? Because they "tend to view  nontechnological  development as an obstacle to progress." In fact, the mistaken scholars think the only kind of development that matters is "modern  technological  development."

In the last sentence, the author continues to criticize these mistaken researchers. More specifically, he or she points out how the researchers mistakenly believe that rural development projects "retard 'real' economic development."

So what kind of economic development does the word "real" refer to here? Well, the author isn't giving his or her own point of view at this point, but summarizing the wrong views of the mistaken researchers. In other words, the world "real" is used to express the mistaken researchers' point of view that "modern  technological  development" is the only important kind. So the word "real" must be referring to  technological  development.

From another angle: we know the author doesn't actually think that rural, nontechnological development "retards" economic development. That's what the researchers think, and they are dead wrong (according to the author). When the mistaken researchers refer to "real" economic development, therefore, they are thinking specifically of "modern technological development."

Let's now take a look at answer choice (A):

Since (A) correctly says that "real" refers to technological development, it's correct.

I hope that helps!

VerbalBot · Answer

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Many researchers regard Thailand's recent economic growth, as reflecte

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