Self-study
In some countries, national planners have attempted to address the problems resulting from increasing urbanization by reducing migration from rural areas. ███ ████ ██████████ ████ █████████ ██ ███████████ █████████ █████ ██████████ ██████ ████ ████████ █████ █████ █████ ████████ ███████████ ██ ███████ █████ ██ ████████ ████████ ██ █ █████████████ █████ ██████████ ██ █████ ██ ██████ ███ ████████████ ████████ ████ ████ ██████████ ████████ █████████████
Argument Summary and Anticipation
Some economists propose an alternative to reducing rural-to-urban migration as a way of dealing with urbanization problems. Their solution is to trade goods or services produced by urban populations in exchange for the agricultural products that used to be produced domestically. In other words, instead of trying to keep people in rural areas so they keep farming, let people move to the cities, let the cities produce goods and services, and then trade those goods and services internationally for food.
To strengthen the economists' assertion, we want information suggesting that this trade-based approach would actually solve the problems caused by urbanization. The economists' plan specifically involves obtaining agricultural products through trade. So the plan seems designed to address a shortage of agricultural products. But would obtaining agricultural products actually help? Only if the problems of urbanization are connected to a lack of agricultural products. If the problems of urbanization have nothing to do with agricultural scarcity, then trading for agricultural products wouldn't do much to solve them.
10.
Which one of the following, ██ █████ █████ ███████ ███ ████ ███████ ███ ███ ███████████ ██████████
a
Government subsidies to █████ █████████████ ███ ████ ███ ████████ ██████ ██ ███ █████████ ██ ██████ ████ █████ ██ █████ ██████
Government subsidies to urban manufacturers might help ease urbanization problems, but this has nothing to do with the economists' proposed solution. The economists are proposing that we trade urban-produced goods and services for agricultural products. (A) is about a completely different approach (subsidies), so it doesn't support the economists' assertion.
b
All problems that ████ ████████ ██████ ████ ████ ████████ ██████████
Even if we accept that economic problems require economic solutions, this is far too general to support the economists' specific proposal. The economists aren't just proposing any economic solution; they're proposing a particular kind of trade. (B) doesn't give us any reason to think that this particular trade-based approach would be effective.
c
A scarcity of ████████████ ████████ ██ █ ███████ ███████ ██ ████ ████████ ███████ ██ █████████████
This strengthens the economists' assertion by connecting the problems of urbanization to a lack of agricultural products. The economists' solution is specifically designed to obtain agricultural products through trade. If agricultural scarcity is a central element of the problems caused by urbanization, then a plan that addresses that scarcity by trading for agricultural products has a much better chance of actually solving those problems. Without this link, we'd have no reason to think that obtaining agricultural products would help.
d
Problems associated with █████████ ██ ██████ ████ █████ █████ ███ █████████ ███ ██ █████ ██████████ ███████ ██████████
(D) tells us that the problems of urbanization are primarily caused by trade imbalances between countries. But the economists' solution is to trade urban goods and services for agricultural products. That's a solution aimed at obtaining agricultural products, not a solution aimed at correcting trade imbalances. Even if trading for agricultural products happens to involve international trade, we don't know whether that trade would reduce the imbalances or make them worse.
e
Free trade policies ███ ██████████ ███ ████████ ██████ ██ ██████████ █████████████
If free trade policies can make urbanization problems worse, that gives us reason to doubt that a trade-based solution would be effective. The economists are proposing more trade, not less, so (E) would, if anything, weaken their position.