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The media claim that the economy is entering a phase
barlie
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The media claim that the economy is entering a phase of growth and prosperity. They point to lower unemployment rates and increased productivity. This analysis is false, though. The number of people filing for bankruptcy has increased every month for the last six months, and bankruptcy lawyers report that they are busier than they have been in years.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

   Unemployment rates are not useful indicators of growth and prosperity.
   Economic growth cannot be measured in terms of productivity.
   Legislation has not been recently passed to make legal bankruptcy easier to obtain.
   There has not been an increase in the number of bankruptcy lawyers.
   The media often misrepresent the current state of economic affairs.


The correct answer listed is (C) CORRECT. This has to be true for the conclusion to hold. If legislation has recently been passed that makes it easier to obtain bankruptcy, then the evidence cited would be less relevant. The increased number of bankruptcies could have been the result of the easier process rather than of a poor economy.

What ? :?:

Let me see if I understand this.
Premise : economy is entering a phase of growth and prosperity .... as demonstrated by lower unemployment rates and increased productivity
Conclusion : its false because..
Premise : number of people filing for bankruptcy has increased every month for the last six months,
premise : bankruptcy lawyers report that they are busier than they have been in years.

The author is refuting the original premise by pointing to bankrputcy filings as the indicators of the economic condition. The basis for the argument is that (A) Unemployment rates are not useful indicators of growth and prosperity. Further there is no indication of (c) as being the assumption for the argument.

:?: Why am I wrong here ?
Stacey Koprince
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Hi, again, please remember to cite the source / author; we need this info posted for copyright reasons before we can respond!
source : manhattan gmat cat test
barlie
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source : manhattan gmat cat test
Stacey Koprince
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Joined: 06 Mar 2007
Posts: 2623
Location: San Francisco
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Watch out for extreme answers. One valid assumption might be that bankruptcy filings are a more useful indicator than unemployment rates, given that the author clearly weighs the bankruptcy evidence more heavily than the unemployment evidence. The author doesn't have to assume that unemployment rates are not useful at all - just that they are not as useful / relevant as the bankruptcy data.
The media claim that the economy is entering a phase
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