The decline of manufacturing in a region sets off a chain reaction. On

Hi,

Here is the detailed solution:

The question asks us to find an option statement which is most strongly suggested by the passage. Therefore, the question is very similar to an inference question.

Facts of the case:
• Decline in manufacturing sets off a chain reaction.
• Decline in manufacturing -> Non-maintenance of Process-engineering expertise -> Difficulty in conducting research on next generation process technologies -> Inability to develop new products.

Prethinking:

The passage talks about a sequential cause-effect relationship in the form: A->B->C->D.

In this case, an inference of the form X->Y can be built from the information given, where X can be any event which precedes Y in the above chain reaction.

Analysis of Answer choices:

A. In the long term, an economy with a deteriorating infrastructure for advanced process engineering and with declining manufacturing activity will likely lose its ability to innovate. – Correct choice.We don’t know for sure what a decline in “advanced process engineering” could lead to, since the passage talks about “process engineering” in general. However, a declining manufacturing activity will necessarily lead to inability to develop new products or innovate. Therefore, this statement is supported by the information given in the passage.

B. To develop new products a company must never cut down its manufacturing. –The passage talks about manufacturing in a region, not a company, which may be spread over multiple regions. Thus, this option is incorrect.

C. An increase in the manufacturing activity in a region leads to increase in innovation within the region – While a decrease in manufacturing activity leads to decrease in innovation, we cannot infer what effect an increase in manufacturing activity will have. Thus, incorrect.

D. To develop new products, a company needs to frequently change its processes. – Without the word “frequently”, this option could have been attractive. Note that “frequent” change of processes as a prerequisite to develop new products cannot be inferred from the passage. Thus, incorrect.

E. An economy that has growing manufacturing capabilities will churn out more new products than other economies. – Again, like option D, we cannot infer about the effect of increasing manufacturing activity. Thus, Incorrect.

Hope this helps

Thanks,
Chiranjeev