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I don't get why A is the answer.

Let's say I have a college degree and can't get a good job, so I settled for an unskilled job with less salary. So this would bring down the average income of the group with a college degree. Here we're asked about the difference between the group of people who have college degrees and who don't rather than skilled and unskill jobs (the jobs which requires a degree and jobs that don't require a degree)
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I don't get why A is the answer.

Let's say I have a college degree and can't get a good job, so I settled for an unskilled job with less salary. So this would bring down the average income of the group with a college degree. Here we're asked about the difference between the group of people who have college degrees and who don't rather than skilled and unskill jobs (the jobs which requires a degree and jobs that don't require a degree)
For a detailed explanation of why (A) is correct, feel free to check out this explanation (or this one, or this one.)

In case those don't clarify things, here are a few additional thoughts on (A).

The analysts hypothesize that increased competition for employees with college degrees drove up their income. For this to be true, we need to assume that there really was "increased competition between employers for employees with college degrees." If this "increased competition" didn't happen, the explanation would fall apart.

So how does (A) affect the analysts' explanation? Well, if (A) were true, it would seriously undermine the idea that there was "increased competition" for employees with college degrees. Basically, if there was so much competition for these employees, why would a "growing percentage" of them be unable to find jobs requiring a college degree?

Since (A) undermines a key assumption of the analysts' explanation, it's correct.

I hope that helps!
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GMATNinja sayantanc2k Can you please explain the reason to eliminate D. I am convinced on why A is correct and but wanted to check how to eliminate D so that I don't end up making the same mistake in other questions.
My thought process for D-
Since Advanced degree folks got much more salary than the normal degree folks so overall the average of the college degree people went up. This served as an alternate reason as to why the difference between annual income doubled.

After reading the explanations I understand A clearly weakens but still wanted to check for D too. Your help would be really appreciated.
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as per option E, even the non degree people can get higher salary that means supply demand for graduates is not the only reason for the higher salary. hence choice E creates doubt on occlusion then why is it incorrect.

my reasoning is that choice E doesn't clearly denies that hypothesis is incorrect and the hypothesis never said that supply demand is the ONLY reason. hence choice E can be eliminated.
is my thinking correct??
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nehagoyal

You're right that they never said supply-and-demand was the only reason. However, E doesn't present an alternative reason in the first place. It just shows that not every high earner had a degree. However, that doesn't matter. This is normal in data sets, right? Sure, there are a few lucky or talented people who earn a lot without a degree. But that doesn't change our premise that ON AVERAGE, people with degrees earned more, and it does nothing to tell us WHY people with degrees earned more.
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shantanu09
GMATNinja sayantanc2k Can you please explain the reason to eliminate D. I am convinced on why A is correct and but wanted to check how to eliminate D so that I don't end up making the same mistake in other questions.

My thought process for D-

Since Advanced degree folks got much more salary than the normal degree folks so overall the average of the college degree people went up. This served as an alternate reason as to why the difference between annual income doubled.

After reading the explanations I understand A clearly weakens but still wanted to check for D too. Your help would be really appreciated.
Here's (D) again:

Quote:
From 1980 to 1990 the difference in average income between employees with advanced degrees and those with bachelor’s degrees also increased.
This is perfectly compatible with the author's explanation that "increased competition between employers for employees with college degrees drove up income for such employees." Perhaps competition for employees with bachelor's degrees went up a bit, and competition for employees with advanced degrees went up even more.

So, (D) doesn't really give us an alternate explanation -- it just provides more details that may well go along with the author's explanation.

Because (D) doesn't undermine the author's theory, we can eliminate it.

I hope that helps!
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A little late to the party, but hopefully I can help others see that A does in-fact slightly suggest that the difference could have doubled.

If a growing percentage of people with college degrees are taking unskilled jobs, then it isn't too big of a stretch to think that this may lead to increasing unemployment in people without college degrees (since they are losing some of their share of jobs to those with college degrees). So quite possibly, the difference has doubled due to a drastic decrease in income of non-college degree guys rather than an increase in income of those with college degrees.
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Situation
Key Fact:
The income gap between employees with college degrees and those without doubled from 1980 to 1990.
In other words, college graduates earned significantly more than non-graduates by 1990 compared to 1980.


Reasoning:
The reasoning explores what evidence could weaken the analysts’ hypothesis that increased competition among employers for college graduates caused this income gap to widen. Here are the three key considerations:
1-If competition did not increase
✔ The hypothesis assumes competition for college-educated employees increased.
✔ If there’s evidence showing this competition did not actually intensify, the hypothesis is undermined.

2-If competition didn’t lead to higher wages:
✔ Even if competition increased, it might not have translated into higher incomes for college-educated employees.
✔ For example, employers might have used other strategies to attract employees (e.g., benefits, perks) instead of raising wages.

3-If competition for non-degree employees increased more:
✔ The hypothesis focuses only on competition for degree holders.
✔ If competition for non-degree employees increased even more, the wider income gap could be explained by stagnant or declining wages for non-degree employees, not by increased wages for degree holders.

To undermine the analysts' explanation, you need evidence showing:
  1. No increased competition for college graduates.
  2. Competition existed but did not cause higher incomes for college graduates.
  3. Greater competition for non-degree employees (leading to wage stagnation or decline for this group)

Analysing Answer Choices

(A) During the 1980s a growing percentage of college graduates, unable to find jobs requiring a college degree, took unskilled jobs.


  • What it means: If many college graduates had to take unskilled jobs because there weren’t enough jobs requiring a degree, this suggests that the supply of college graduates exceeded the demand for them.
    • If employers were not competing intensely for these graduates, the hypothesis that competition drove up their wages is undermined.
  • Why it’s correct:
  • This directly challenges the idea that increased competition among employers was the cause of the widening income gap. Instead, it suggests that other factors (e.g., oversupply of graduates or declining wages for non-degree holders) could explain the trend.


(B) The average age of all employees increased slightly during the 1980s.
  • What it means: The workforce became slightly older on average.
  • Why it's wrong:
    • This fact does not distinguish between employees with and without college degrees.
    • If the average age increased equally for both groups, it would not explain why the income gap widened.
    • The information is irrelevant to competition among employers for degree holders.

(C) The unemployment rate changed very little throughout the 1980s.
  • What it means: The overall unemployment rate remained stable during this period.
  • Why it’s wrong:
    • Even if unemployment stayed constant, it doesn’t rule out the possibility that competition for college graduates increased while competition for non-degree holders decreased.
    • The unemployment rate alone does not tell us about the specific dynamics of employer competition for college-educated employees.


(D) From 1980 to 1990 the difference in average income between employees with advanced degrees and those with bachelor’s degrees also increased.
  • What it means: Employees with advanced degrees (e.g., master's, PhDs) saw a greater income advantage over those with bachelor’s degrees during this period.
  • Why it’s wrong:
    • This is comparing two subgroups of degree holders (bachelor’s vs. advanced degrees).
    • It does not address the gap between college graduates and non-graduates, which is the focus of the hypothesis.
    • This information is irrelevant to the competition for employees with basic college degrees.

(E) During the 1980s there were some employees with no college degree who earned incomes comparable to the top incomes earned by employees with a college degree.
  • What it means: A few non-degree holders earned salaries comparable to the highest-earning college graduates.
  • Why it’s wrong:
    • The existence of a few high-earning non-degree employees does not explain the overall trend of a widening income gap.
    • These exceptions do not challenge the broader hypothesis that competition for degree holders drove up their average incomes.
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