Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT147 S4 Q4 Explanation

Economist: Unemployment will soon

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Logical Reasoning question.

TopicsSufficient Assumption

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Stimulus

Economist: Unemployment will soon decrease. If total government spending significantly increases next year, the economy will be stimulated in the short term and unemployment will decrease. If, on the other hand, total government spending significantly decreases next year, businesses will retain term and employ more workers, thereby decreasing unemployment.

What this question is testing

Sufficient Assumption

Your task

Find the assumption that, if added, guarantees the conclusion follows.

Common trap

Answers that only partly bridge the gap, leaving the conclusion unproven.

Winning move

Identify the new term in the conclusion and pick the choice that links it to the evidence.

Reading along? Open the full official question in LawHub — we show a fragment here and keep the reasoning in our own words.

The question
4.

The conclusion drawn by the economist is properly inferred if which one of the

Answer choices

  1. Correct85% picked this

    Either total government spending will significantly decrease next year or else total government spending will

    Why this is right

    Answer A is correct.

    Skill tested: Sufficient Assumption · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

  2. Unrelated to Goal: nothing about spending2% picked this

    Government officials are currently implementing policies that are intended to

    Since this doesn't tell us whether spending will go up or down, it doesn't do the job we need it to do.

  3. Unrelated to Goal: nothing about spending4% picked this

    If there is a significantly increased demand for workers, then there will be a significant

    Since this doesn't tell us whether spending will gone up or down, it doesn't do the job we need it to do.

  4. Unrelated to Goal: nothing about spending1% picked this

    A significant increase in total government spending will slow the economy in

    Since this doesn't tell us whether spending will go up or down, it doesn't do the job we need it to do.

  5. Unrelated to Goal: nothing about spending8% picked this

    If the economy is not stimulated and businesses do not retain more of their earnings, then

    Since this doesn't tell us whether spending will go up or down, it doesn't do the job we need it to do.

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