Defined as an aggregate measure of production equal to the sum of the

Question

Defined as an aggregate measure of production equal to the sum of the gross values added of all resident institutional units engaged in production, plus and taxes, and minus any subsidies, on products not included in the value of their outputs, GDP is a basic standard to measure the standard of living in a country and in turn the economic well-being of the population. However, critics are of the opinion that national GDP figures do not reveal significant regional variations in output, employment and incomes per head of population. They justly contend that within each region there are areas of relative prosperity contrasting with unemployment black-spots and deep-rooted social and economic deprivation and that GDP figures on their own do not represent the distribution of income and the uneven spread of financial wealth.

The idea that rising national prosperity can still be accompanied by rising relative poverty is rightly at the heart of the criticism meted out for using GDP as a measure of the general well-being of the population of a region. Changes such as increase in pollution and other negative externalities can accompany rising national output. Also, output figures reflect nothing but little on the quality of goods and services produced. Not to mention that the quality of life for many could be severely diminished if the increase in national output has been achieved at the expense of the leisure time of the workers working longer than usual hours.   1

1.The author is primarily concerned with
A. defining a concept while presenting two sides of an argument
B. presenting the merits and demerits of a phenomenon
C. describing the criticism meted out to the use of a parameter for a specific purpose
D. criticizing a particular usage of a concept
E. evaluating a phenomenon on the basis of certain unconventional, non-economic parameters
 The first paragraph criticizes using GDP as a measure of standard of living while the second paragraph continues to present points against the same. Hence, the primary purpose of the passage is to criticize using GDP as the measure of standard of living.
A. Incorrect: Partial Scope
Even though the author does define the concept of GDP, he/she never presents the other side of using it as a measure of standard of living, i.e. the positive side.
B. Incorrect: Partial Scope
Once again, the author does not present any merits of using GDP as a measure of standard of living.
C. Incorrect: Irrelevant
The author does more than just “describing” the criticism meted out to GDP for its usage as a measure of standard of living. The author agrees with the criticism and goes on to add to it in the second paragraph. Hence, this choice fails to capture the essence of author’s role in the passage.
D. Correct
This choice matches the main point we came up with earlier in the summary and main point section and then in pre-thinking. As stated in the explanation for choice C above, the author agrees with the criticism of others towards using GDP as a measure of standard of living and adds to it in the second paragraph. Hence, the whole passage is a critique of this usage of GDP.
E.Incorrect: Out Of Scope
There is no given information to suggest that the parameters discussed in the passage are unconventional. Also, the author talks about distribution of wealth and income, parameters that are certainly not non-economic.

2 
2.Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
A. In countries where there is little disparity in the distribution of wealth, GDP is the best measure of standard of living.
B. Increase in pollution and other negative changes negate any increase in national output.
C. An increase in the overall goods produced by a nation does not on its own signify a corresponding increase in the quality of these goods.
D. The quality of life suffers when workers work for long hours.
E. A country with a high GDP is very likely to have uneven spread of financial wealth.

A. Incorrect: Out Of Scope
The author does not talk about a situation in which there is no or little disparity in the distribution of wealth. Also, the author uses other parameters as well to evaluate the use of GDP as a measure of standard of living- measure such as increase in pollution etc. So, it is possible that even in the absence of disparity in the distribution of wealth, there are other parameters which are not accounted for in this particular use of GDP.
B. Incorrect: Out Of Scope
Although the author does say that such changes need to be accounted for while measuring the standard of living and in turn the well-being of the population and that GDP does not take them in to account, there is no given information to conclude that increase in these negative aspects negate any increase in GDP. This choice is too extreme and not supported by the passage.
C. Correct
This choice directly flows from what’s stated in the second paragraph. Please refer to the following extract:
Also, output figures reflect nothing but little on the quality of goods and services produced.
From the above statement, one can deduce that output figures are not really representative of the quality of good produced. In the given context, one can understand that change in GDP does not represent a change in the quality of goods and services produced.
D. Incorrect: Out Of Scope
The author does talk about the impact on quality of life of workers working longer than usual hours; now, whether these usual hours are long for some and short for others is an aspect that cannot be decided using the information given in the passage. Hence, the sweeping statement drawn about working for long hours is not supported by the passage.
E. Incorrect: Out Of Scope
There is no information given on any kind of proportional relationship between these two parameters.

3 
3.Which of the following is mentioned in the passage?
A. Unemployment black spots and social deprivation are two of the biggest threats to any economy.
B. An increase in national prosperity is most likely accompanied by an increase in relative poverty.
C. Even when there is an equal distribution of wealth, GDP fails as a measure of the income of a country.
D. There is an inverse relationship between an increase in the output of goods in a country and the quality of this output.
E. The usage of GDP as a measure of standard of living is linked to measuring the economic health of the population.

A. Incorrect: Out Of Scope 
The author does mention unemployment black spots and social deprivation in the first paragraph, but never comments on how relatively significant they are in terms of their impact on the economy.
B. Incorrect: Out Of Scope
The author talks about a state where it is possible that national prosperity is accompanied by increase in relative poverty but does not say anything about the probability of the same.
C. Incorrect: Out Of Scope 
The author does not talk about GDP’s strength as an indicator of the overall income of a country. Instead, he/she criticizes it for not representing the distribution of this income.
D. Incorrect: Out Of Scope
No such inversely proportional relationship is mentioned in the passage. The author just says that figures related to the output of goods do not indicate much about the quality of the goods produced. He/she says that in a specific scenario, the quality of goods could deteriorate with the increase in the output.
E. Correct

This information is specified by the author in the first sentence of the passage. The author states that:

… GDP is a basic standard to measure the standard of living in a country and in turn the economic well-being of the population

4 
4. Which of the following most aptly describes the function of the first paragraph?
A. To define and criticize the basis of an economic term
B. To criticize the effort to ignore the marginalized sections in a society by using a particular measure
C. To evaluate a particular term that is little understood by most countries
D. To introduce criticism against a particular use of a concept
E. To discuss measures that can increase the relevance of a particular concept

A. Incorrect: Irrelevant

The economic term that is defined in this paragraph is GDP and the author doesn’t criticize GDP or its basis per se, but instead the use of GDP to measure the standard of living and economic well-being of the people.
B. Incorrect: Irrelevant
The author does not make any insinuation regarding any effort to ignore certain sections; he/she just states that in using GDP as a measure of standard of living, certain parameters are not addressed.
C. Incorrect: Irrelevant
As stated in the explanation for choice A, the author does not evaluate GDP but a particular usage of GDP. Secondly, the author does not say or imply that this term is not understood by countries.
D.Correct
This choice correctly states the idea behind the first paragraph and matches the description we came up with in the passage analysis. The whole point of the first paragraph is to talk about the criticism meted out to GDP for its use to measure the standard of living of the people. The author then carried forward the criticism in the second paragraph.
E. Incorrect: Irrelevant
There is no discussion on or mention of any kind of corrective measures for GDP.

Nikhil · Accepted Answer

1.The author is primarily concerned with

The first paragraph criticizes using GDP as a measure of standard of living while the second paragraph continues to present points against the same. Hence, the primary purpose of the passage is to criticize using GDP as the measure of standard of living.

A. defining a concept while presenting two sides of an argument

Incorrect : Partial Scope. Even though the author does define the concept of GDP, he/she never presents the other side of using it as a measure of standard of living, i.e. the positive side.

B. presenting the merits and demerits of a phenomenon

Incorrect : Partial Scope. Once again, the author does not present any merits of using GDP as a measure of standard of living.

C. describing the criticism meted out to the use of a parameter for a specific purpose

Incorrect : Irrelevant. The author does more than just “describing” the criticism meted out to GDP for its usage as a measure of standard of living. The author agrees with the criticism and goes on to add to it in the second paragraph. Hence, this choice fails to capture the essence of author’s role in the passage.

D. criticizing a particular usage of a concept

Correct . This choice matches the main point we came up with earlier in the summary and main point section and then in pre-thinking. As stated in the explanation for choice C above, the author agrees with the criticism of others towards using GDP as a measure of standard of living and adds to it in the second paragraph. Hence, the whole passage is a critique of this usage of GDP.

E. evaluating a phenomenon on the basis of certain unconventional, non-economic parameters

Incorrect : Out Of Scope. There is no given information to suggest that the parameters discussed in the passage are unconventional. Also, the author talks about the distribution of wealth and income, parameters that are certainly not non-economic.

2.Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

A. In countries where there is little disparity in the distribution of wealth, GDP is the best measure of standard of living.

Incorrect : Out Of Scope. The author does not talk about a situation in which there is no or little disparity in the distribution of wealth. Also, the author uses other parameters as well to evaluate the use of GDP as a measure of standard of living- measure such as increase in pollution etc. So, it is possible that even in the absence of disparity in the distribution of wealth, there are other parameters which are not accounted for in this particular use of GDP.

B. Increase in pollution and other negative changes negate any increase in national output.

Incorrect : Out Of Scope. Although the author does say that such changes need to be accounted for while measuring the standard of living and in turn the well-being of the population and that GDP does not take them in to account, there is no given information to conclude that increase in these negative aspects negate any increase in GDP. This choice is too extreme and not supported by the passage.

C. An increase in the overall goods produced by a nation does not on its own signify a corresponding increase in the quality of these goods.

Correct . This choice directly flows from what’s stated in the second paragraph. Please refer to the following extract:
Also, output figures reflect nothing but little on the quality of goods and services produced.

From the above statement, one can deduce that output figures are not really representative of the quality of good produced. In the given context, one can understand that change in GDP does not represent a change in the quality of goods and services produced.

D. The quality of life suffers when workers work for long hours.

Incorrect : Out Of Scope. The author does talk about the impact on quality of life of workers working longer than usual hours; now, whether these usual hours are long for some and short for others is an aspect that cannot be decided using the information given in the passage. Hence, the sweeping statement drawn about working for long hours is not supported by the passage.

E. A country with a high GDP is very likely to have uneven spread of financial wealth.

Incorrect : Out Of Scope. There is no information given on any kind of proportional relationship between these two parameters.

3. Which of the following is mentioned in the passage?

A. Unemployment black spots and social deprivation are two of the biggest threats to any economy.

Incorrect : Out Of Scope. The author does mention unemployment black spots and social deprivation in the first paragraph, but never comments on how relatively significant they are in terms of their impact on the economy.

B. An increase in national prosperity is most likely accompanied by an increase in relative poverty.

Incorrect : Out Of Scope. The author talks about a state where it is possible that national prosperity is accompanied by increase in relative poverty but does not say anything about the probability of the same.

C. Even when there is an equal distribution of wealth, GDP fails as a measure of the income of a country.

Incorrect : Out Of Scope . The author does not talk about GDP’s strength as an indicator of the overall income of a country. Instead, he/she criticizes it for not representing the distribution of this income.

D. There is an inverse relationship between an increase in the output of goods in a country and the quality of this output.

Incorrect : Out Of Scope. No such inversely proportional relationship is mentioned in the passage. The author just says that figures related to the output of goods do not indicate much about the quality of the goods produced. He/she says that in a specific scenario, the quality of goods could deteriorate with the increase in the output.

E. The usage of GDP as a measure of standard of living is linked to measuring the economic health of the population.

Correct

This information is specified by the author in the first sentence of the passage. The author states that:

… GDP is a basic standard to measure the standard of living in a country and in turn the economic well-being of the population

4. Which of the following most aptly describes the function of the first paragraph?

A. To define and criticize the basis of an economic term

Incorrect : Irrelevant. The economic term that is defined in this paragraph is GDP and the author doesn’t criticize GDP or its basis per se, but instead the use of GDP to measure the standard of living and economic well-being of the people.

B. To criticize the effort to ignore the marginalized sections in a society by using a particular measure

Incorrect : Irrelevant. The author does not make any insinuation regarding any effort to ignore certain sections; he/she just states that in using GDP as a measure of standard of living, certain parameters are not addressed.

C. To evaluate a particular term that is little understood by most countries

Incorrect : Irrelevant. As stated in the explanation for choice A, the author does not evaluate GDP but a particular usage of GDP. Secondly, the author does not say or imply that this term is not understood by countries.

D. To introduce criticism against a particular use of a concept

Correct . This choice correctly states the idea behind the first paragraph and matches the description we came up with in the passage analysis. The whole point of the first paragraph is to talk about the criticism meted out to GDP for its use to measure the standard of living of the people. The author then carried forward the criticism in the second paragraph.

E. To discuss measures that can increase the relevance of a particular concept

Incorrect : Irrelevant. There is no discussion on or mention of any kind of corrective measures for GDP.

narayandutta · Answer

Can Anyone explain Ques1. Why not C ?
Thanks in advance

sidvarma · Answer

I can try to.

So, if you try to get a "general feel" about the passage you will understand that the author is mainly criticizing the application/usage of GDP as a measure of a nation's economic health. The author provides several aspects of their rationale expanding on their thinking.

Choice C says "describing the criticism meted out to the use of a parameter for a specific purpose" and this question needs to you to get REALLY pedantic about whether the author really was "DESCRIBING a criticism" or was "criticizing themselves by providing their own points or rationale". Once you get down to this level of being (rather annoyingly) specific, you will eliminate this option and subsequently pick D. Does that help?

egmat · Answer

In Question 1, option C is extremely popular, chosen by 53% of students (the majority). The correct answer however is option D.

Let us see why. When reading an RC passage, we need to keep an eye out for what are called Keywords - specific words/phrases that the author uses to indicate something to us. One type of keywords is those that indicate viewpoint. The author can indicate whether he agrees with something or not, by the use of specific keywords. For example: The middle class believe that the government does not care for them. And rightly so . The middle class, incorrectly believe that the government does not care for them. In both these examples - the bolded words are KWs used by the author to indicate his/her agreement/disagreement. In the first line, the author agrees (thats why "rightly so"). In the second one, the author disagrees ("incorrectly" - is the author's opinion). Now coming back to the passage, the author gives us a clue in both paragraphs - "They justly contend", and " rightly at the heart of the criticism". Through these two words (justly, rightly), the author is indicating his agreement with the criticism of GDP. This makes the criticism the author's opinion as well (remember, the author is sharing third party criticism which he agrees with. So it is his/her opinion as well. Else he would have either not shared the third party opinion, or he would have criticised the criticism/third party opinion somewhere in the passage). This is what makes option C incorrect and option D correct. The author is not merely describing the criticism to GDP, he is himself criticising it, by using third party arguments he agrees with. If you did not spend a second thinking about why "justly" and "rightly" are there, you may have chosen option C instead of option D. I hope this helps! Regards, Harsha

memayank · Answer

In question 2, answer 'C' is wrong as per the paragraph. Please refer quote "  output figures   reflect nothing but little on the quality of goods and services produced". But option 'C' states "  An increase in the overall goods   produced by a nation does not on its own signify a corresponding increase in the quality of these goods". Hence cannot be inferred as per difference mentioned above. However, option 'D' clearly stated in Para "quality of life for many could be severely diminished if the increase in national output has been achieved at the expense of the leisure time of the workers working longer than usual hours".

sayan640 · Answer

egmat  , Why is option A wrong in the Question 4 ? 
The definition of GDP was indeed provided in the first line and then criticised  thereafter because of its usage and implications.
Option D says that it was only curiticised . The 'definition' part was not included . Can you kindly explain ?  MartyMurray

JoeKan1234 · Answer

4. Which of the following most aptly describes the function of the first paragraph?
A. To define and criticize the basis of an economic term
B. To criticize the effort to ignore the marginalized sections in a society by using a particular measure
C. To evaluate a particular term that is little understood by most countries
D. To introduce criticism against a particular use of a concept
E. To discuss measures that can increase the relevance of a particular concept

A is wrong because the author does not criticize the basis of an economic term. The basis is "Defined as an aggregate measure of production equal to the sum of the gross values added of all resident institutional units engaged in production, plus and taxes, and minus any subsidies, on products not included in the value of their outputs"

Actually, the author thinks GDP is misleading, which does not mean the concept GDP itself is wrong. It just means GDP does not necessarily represent the general picture because the distribution of financial health can be uneven. D talks about "usage", which aligns closely to the main idea of the passage. So D is correct.

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