Throughout European history famines have generally been followed by period of rising wages, because when a labor force is diminished, workers are more valuable in accordance with the law of supply and demand. The Irish potato famine of the 1840s is an exception; it resulted in the death or emigration of half of Ireland's population, but there was no significant rise in the average wages in Ireland in the following decade.
Which one of the following, if true, would LEAST contribute to an explanation of the exception to the generalization?
(A) Improved medical care
reduced the mortality rate among able-bodied adults in the decade following the famine to below prefamine levels. - WRONG. So, relatively more people were available to work. Explains the reason of low wages.
(B) Eviction policies of the landowners in Ireland were designed to
force emigration of the elderly and infirm, who could not work, and to
retain a high percentage of able-bodied workers. - WRONG. Again explains so wrong.
(C) Advances in technology
increased the efficiency of industry and agriculture, and so allowed maintenance of economic output with
less demand for labor. - WRONG. Two factor highlighted help explain the reason for low wages.
(D) The
birth rate increased during the decade following the famine, and this
compensated for much of the loss of population that was due to the famine. - CORRECT. If so, then it is not necessary that people were of working age. Least helps explain.
(E) England, which had political control of Ireland,
legislated artificially low wages to provide English-owned industry and agriculture in Ireland with cheap labor. - WRONG. So, suppressed wages were because of a legislation. Helps explain thus wrong.
Answer D.
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