European nations are starting to decrease the percentage of

Question

European nations are starting to decrease the percentage of their foreign aid that is "tied" – that is, given only on the condition that it be spent to obtain goods and materials produced by the country from which the aid originates. By doing so, European nations hope to avoid the ethical criticism that has been recently leveled at some foreign aid donors, notably Japan.

Which of the following can most reasonably be inferred from the passage?

A. Many non-European nations give foreign aid solely for the purpose of benefiting their domestic economies.
B. Only ethical considerations, and not those of self-interest, should be considered when foreign aid decisions are made.
C. Many of the problems faced by underdeveloped countries could be eliminated if a smaller percentage of the foreign aid they obtain were "tied" to specific purchases and uses.
D. Much of Japan’s foreign aid returns to Japan in the form of purchase orders for Japanese products and equipment.
E. Non-European nations are unwilling to offer foreign aid that is not "tied" to the purchase of their own manufactures.

GyanOne · Answer

A: Incorrect. The stimulus does not say that the purpose of aid is only to benefit domestic economies.
B: Incorrect. The stimulus says that European nations hope to avoid the ethical criticism that has been leveled against some donors. This does not mean only ethical considerations are important for foreign aid decisions
C: Incorrect. There is no mention of how any of these factors would affect problems in underdeveloped countries.
D: CORRECT. If a lot of the criticism for 'tied' foreign aid has been leveled against Japan, it serves to follow that Japan has used this model significantly => much of Japan's foreign aid would have returned to it in the form of purchase orders for Japanese products
E: Incorrect. European nations are trying to decrease the amount of 'tied' aid - this does not mean that they are/had been unwilling to offer foreign aid that is not 'tied' in the past.

aditya8062 · Answer

i somehow dont find the answer choices very convincing .though D can be accepted but there can be a reason to reject D .i wud have preferred D if D were structured as follow :some of Japan’s foreign aid returns to Japan in the form of purchase orders for Japanese products and equipment

"much of the japan's foreign .." is a problem in D

" much  of the japan's foreign .."  is a problem in D

Ivan91 · Answer

Answer D is the least evil choice...although not convincng at all. It is too extreme, answer choice like this cannot be correct on the real exam.

aditya8062 · Answer

hi ivan is ur reason of not liking D same as mine ?

Ivan91 · Answer

Yes, the word much is to extreme. We can infer that Japan gives away a significant amount of "tied loans" , but tosay that the majority of all their loans is tied is somehow too extreme.

Rock750 · Answer

Hi everybody, the OA is added.

Could anyone do the breakdown premise / conclusion ?

I see that only the answer choices were discussed but not the argument ... It would be helpful to all the community if it is the case

Thanks

Archit143 · Answer

Srry for being late, but the only answer that stays within the scope is D.....

Archit

imhimanshu · Answer

Although in 90% of the cases, you would see Inference questions has only set of Premises, but in few questions, you may see PRemise and COnclusion. This question falls under second category

Premise: European nations are starting to decrease the percentage of their foreign aid that is "tied" – that is, given only on the condition that it be spent to obtain goods and materials produced by the country from which the aid originates. 
Conclusion :By doing so, European nations hope to avoid the ethical criticism that has been recently leveled at some foreign aid donors, notably Japan.

However, Answer choice should follow the below characteristics only-
1- must be logically deduced.
2- Tone should match. Avoid Extremities until n unless argument speaks so.

Let me know in case you have any doubts.

Thanks

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mbmanoj · Answer

IMO B
I donot understand why D. nothing is stated about the returns to Japan.
its B, E nation wanted to react to the comments by Japan. So, it no more supports TIED. 
The motivation of the E nation can be re writtern as B

plumber250 · Answer

Hi mbamanoj,

The issue is that B does not mention the motivation of the European Nations.

Is states in general (for everyone) that the motivation should be ONLY ethical. You might (and only might) be able to make an argument that this was correct if it mentioned European Nations motivation. But it does not it is taking about everyone. We have no evidence for that.

D however, is in scope, as the argument suggests that Japan is criticised for a practice that would logically (i.e. aid must be spent in Japan), increase the amount of Japanese aid spent in Japan. This is a logical inference. So it is correct.

mbmanoj · Answer

thank you, I mis understood the data, i realized it now

karthickhari · Answer

I guess D Re states the Premise ? AM i wrong ? CAn Inference Choice re statement of the premise?

vrateshpinge · Answer

D is most likely answer. It is the only one which can be inferred from the question.

gmat1393 · Answer

KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

According to the passage, when foreign aid money is tied, nation A gives money to nation B with the understanding that B will use the money only to buy A's products. That way, nation A makes most of its money back. The author says that European nations are phasing out this practice in order to avoid criticism that has been leveled at other donors, "notably Japan." The inference to be drawn here is that Japan has been criticized for tying its foreign aid, so (D) is the inference we're looking for.

(A) isn't inferable because the passage discusses only one non-European nation, Japan, and its foreign aid policy. You can't infer what "many non-European nations" are doing. (E) does essentially the same thing. One comment about Japan doesn't allow you to make an inference about non-European nations. (B) and (C) make statements of opinion, and the author never makes any policy recommendations.

Mavisdu1017 · Answer

hi  GyanOne  I couldn’t understand the logic: European countries wanna decrease the percentage of tied donations, and Japan uses this way, so why European countries avoid ethical criticism to Japan?

Posted from my mobile device

VerbalBot · Answer

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