In the city of Glasgow, Scotland, trade doubled between 1750, when the

Question

In the city of Glasgow, Scotland, trade doubled between 1750, when the first bank opened there, and 1765, when government regulations on banking were first implemented in Scotland.

Each of the following, if true, could contribute to an explanation of the doubling described above EXCEPT:

(A) The technological revolution that started in the early eighteenth century in England resulted in increased trade between England and Scotland.
(B) Reductions in tariffs on foreign goods in 1752 led to an increase in imports to Glasgow.
(C) The establishment of banking in Glasgow encouraged the use of paper money, which made financial transactions more efficient.
(D) Improvements in Scottish roads between 1750 and 1758 facilitated trade between Glasgow and the rest of Scotland.
(E) The initial government regulation of Scottish banks stimulated Glasgow’s economy.

AnandDoss2004 · Accepted Answer

Crux of choice E: initial regulations of bank stimulated growth -> but first regulation came in 1765. So it doesn't explain what happened during 1750-1765 that doubled trade growth.

Ps1810 · Answer

Can anybody please help with why option A is the answer as I was looking for a weakening agent and A and E both does that, then how should I got with A?
Thanks in Advance!

Carcass · Answer

In the city of Glasgow, Scotland,  trade doubled between  1750, when the first bank opened there, and 1765, when  government regulations on banking  were first implemented in Scotland.

in that range the commerce increased both inward and outward of Glasgow.

EVERY element that helps us to justify this is correct.

Turns out, the option that will not address or take into account this is WRONG

(D)  Improvements in Scottish roads between 1750 and 1758  facilitated trade between Glasgow and the rest of Scotland.

the range is correct and the roads of course help the exchanges in both directions

(E) The initial government regulation of Scottish banks stimulated Glasgow’s economy.

We do not know much information is the stimuli are beneficial for Glasgow in and out or ONLY inside the Glasgow area.

So E is wrong

Vibhatu · Answer

Why not A? Anyone please explain.

tryingtoaimhigher · Answer

Hi, could someone explain why choice C is wrong here? The choice states that The establishment of banking in Glasgow  encouraged the use of paper money , which made financial transactions more efficient. So this in a way simply changed the medium of trade from previous inefficient methods (e.g. barter) to paper money now, but does not necessarily lead to a change in the amount people want to trade itself (the overall pie).

Could someone explain how the medium of trade improving itself will lead to higher trade? For e.g. the move from cash to card simply makes transactions more efficient but does not want people to buy more things just because they're using cards.

Thank you in advance.

hemanth7 · Answer

As in the early 18th century (starting years of 1700) trade increased b/w England and Scotland This could potentially lead to the doubling of trade in Glasgow. Although not a very strong argument but has some merit to it.

KVSNEHA · Answer

why is it not D? can someone explain

Flower_Child · Answer

We are given that the trade doubled between 1750 and 1765.
The incorrect answers will strengthen this claim.
 
Choice(D) - Improvements in Scottish roads between 1750 and 1758 facilitated trade between Glasgow and the rest of Scotland. 
It lies well within our required range and gives a possible reason why the trade would have improved. 
Bad connectivity between two places will make trade difficult as it would be difficult to transport goods from one place to other and good connectivity will facilitate trade.
Thus this choice strengthen the possibility that trade was improved and got doubled and so isn't our answer.

Vidds0214 · Answer

KarishmaB  could you help with an explanation as to why E is the correct choice here?
As far as I understood, we aren't aware about the initial government regulations on the Scottish banks, hence I went for E. Is this the correct train of thought?

djangobackend · Answer

in A - it tells us that tech. advancement started in early 18th century so could mean 1700s onwards probably. okay now so the effects of this tech revolution led to increase in trade. Its also implying that. now you can say that timeframes don't match, we are talking b/w 1850-65 but realise that its not necessary that the effects/results will be realized right after the implementation. Think of it as real life as well, you can say that AI research started in 1990s but its now that we are leveraging its true potential, similar reasoning for me. 
plus it gives us a reason why trade could have increased - tech revolution.

in E - its not relevant, even if we assume that just after regulations were made on banking in 1965 then SUDDENLY (or in 1965 itself) it led to economy boost still economy boost doesn't necessarily means trade - it could be increase in jobs, avg. income etc. ALSO, what happened in 1965 or 1950 isn't relevant we are interested in why trade doubled in BETWEEN 1950 and 1965 hence it has no impact.

Joe258 · Answer

Hi,

The way I used to reason E as the correct answer is that no matter of how the initial government regulations on the banks affected Glasgow's trades, it is irrelevant. This is because the passage concerns the period 1750 to 1765 and we should expect 4 options to give a reason, whether directly or to a certain level, why trades doubled in this time frame. All other options give possible reasons except E which only concerns THE TIME AFTER 1765. Initial regulation to stimulate the trade flows could be a reason for any increases/decreases after 1765, but itself could never be a reason for whatever preceded 1765.

Hope this helps!^^

celialem · Answer

I was stuck between A and E, then wrongly chose A because E says that the first banking regulation happened in 1965 and it stimulated Glasgow's economy, but A talks about the technological revolution in the early 18th century between England and Scotland, so that is before 1750 and doesn't necessarily address the increase in trade in that 15 year period in Glasgow. 
Can someone please help with the reasoning?  MartyMurray

guddo · Answer

In the city of Glasgow, Scotland, trade doubled between 1750, when the first bank opened there, and 1765, when government regulations on banking were first implemented in Scotland.

Each of the following, if true, could contribute to an explanation of the doubling described above EXCEPT:

Trade doubled over 1750 to 1765. Four choices give plausible causes during (or leading into) that period; the EXCEPT choice is the one that does not fit the timing or cannot explain the increase.

(A) The technological revolution that started in the early eighteenth century in England resulted in increased trade between England and Scotland.

This could raise trade during 1750 to 1765 by increasing cross border commerce, so it can contribute.

(B) Reductions in tariffs on foreign goods in 1752 led to an increase in imports to Glasgow.

This directly increases trade within the window, so it can contribute.

(C) The establishment of banking in Glasgow encouraged the use of paper money, which made financial transactions more efficient.

This plausibly boosts trade after 1750 by making transactions easier, so it can contribute.

(D) Improvements in Scottish roads between 1750 and 1758 facilitated trade between Glasgow and the rest of Scotland.

Better roads in that period can increase trade, so it can contribute.

(E) The initial government regulation of Scottish banks stimulated Glasgow’s economy.

This points to an effect starting when regulations were implemented, which the passage places at 1765. That is at the end of the period, so it cannot explain why trade doubled over the prior 15 years. This is the  timing mismatch , so it is the EXCEPT.

Answer: (E)

guddo · Answer

I think, your concern about A is reasonable, but  A still can explain the 1750–1765 doubling  because it says the technological revolution “resulted in increased trade between England and Scotland.” That effect can easily extend into (and drive) the later 1750–1765 period, even if the revolution started earlier. So A is not ruled out by timing.

E is the real mismatch  because the regulations start in  1765 , which is the endpoint. Even if they “stimulated Glasgow’s economy,” that would mainly be after 1765, so it cannot explain why trade doubled over the whole 1750–1765 window.

GmatGreTutor · Answer

If you like my explanation below, in 5 days I will provide a link through which you can contact me, because the key to maximise your GMAT Score is to maximise your GMAT Verbal Subscore.

Here’s what I will do, in the exact workflow that you see below:

Scan the question stem first to confirm the type trigger: EXPLAIN the discrepancy EXCEPT (so we’re looking for the choice that does NOT explain the discrepancy).
Restate the argument faithfully, labeling:
Premise 1 
Premise 2 
The discrepancy / contradiction indicator(s) (your “BETWEEN U” and “BETWEEN Z” idea — i.e., the phrasing that makes the two premises clash)
Analyze all answer choices by applying Process of Elimination as follows:

Eliminate choices that do explain the discrepancy by connecting to both premises and resolving the contradiction.
Keep choices that do NOT explain it because they:
connect to only one premise, or
connect to neither, or
connect to both but fail to resolve the contradiction.
The last remaining choice is the EXCEPT answer

Question (type trigger): EXPLAIN the phenomenon EXCEPT
Trade in Glasgow doubled between 1750 and 1765 (1750 = first bank opens; 1765 = first government banking regulations in Scotland).
We need the choice that does NOT contribute to explaining why trade doubled by 1765.

Apply POE (keep only what does NOT explain the doubling)
(A) Could explain: more England–Scotland trade ⇒ Glasgow’s trade can rise. Eliminate.
(B) Could explain: lower tariffs in 1752 ⇒ more imports through Glasgow ⇒ more trade volume. Eliminate.
(C) Could explain: banking + paper money ⇒ easier/faster transactions ⇒ supports more trading activity. Eliminate.
(D) Could explain: better roads 1750–1758 ⇒ cheaper/faster movement of goods to/from Glasgow ⇒ more trade. Eliminate.
(E) Problem: the initial government regulation begins in 1765 (the endpoint). That regulation would mainly affect the period after it is implemented, so it does not plausibly contribute to explaining the trade increase over 1750–1765 (the run-up to 1765). Keep.

Correct answer: (E)

In the city of Glasgow, Scotland, trade doubled between 1750, when the

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In the city of Glasgow, Scotland, trade doubled between 1750, when the

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