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  3. "Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man," wrote Robert H

"Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man," wrote Robert H

游客2023-06-20  31
问题     "Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man," wrote Robert Heinlein, a science-fiction writer. Until the 18th century, global GDP per person was stuck between $725 and $1,100, around the same income level as the World Bank’s current poverty line of $1.90 a day. But global income levels per person have since accelerated, from around $1,100 in 1800 to $3,600 in 1950, and over $10,000 today.
    Economists have long tried to explain this sudden surge in output. Most theories have focused on the factors driving long-term economic growth such as the quantity and productivity of labor and capital. But a new paper takes a different tack (思路): faster growth is not due to bigger booms, but to less shrinking in recessions. Stephen Broadberry of Oxford University and John Wallis of the University of Maryland have taken data for 18 countries in Europe and the New World, some from as far back as the 13th century. To their surprise, they found that growth during years of economic expansion has fallen in the recent era—from 3.88% between 1820 and 1870 to 3.06% since 1950—even though average growth across all years in those two periods increased from 1.4% to 2.55% .
    Instead, shorter and shallower slumps led to rising long-term growth. Output fell in a third of years between 1820 and 1870 but in only 12% of those since 1950. The rate of decline per recession year has fallen too, from 3% to 1.2%.
    So why have these "growth reversals" decreased in length and depth? In another paper Broadberry and Wallis find that conventional explanations—such as demographic change or a sectoral shift from volatile (不稳定的) agriculture to the more stable services sector—do not fully explain the shift.
    More important is the rise of the rule of law, enabling disputes to be settled by impartial courts. Before the modern era, elites would fight between themselves for the spoils of growth and send the economy back to square one through wars, corruption and the like. Respect for courts to resolve disputes prevents this from happening. With populist (民粹主义的) politicians challenging the authority of judges once again across the world, that is food for thought. [br] What is the author’s suggestion for protecting the economy from being damaged by elites?
选项 A、Reducing the internal fights within elites.
B、Curbing the spread of wars.
C、Stamping out corruption in high places.
D、Promoting the settlement of disputes through courts.
答案 D
解析 推理判断题。由题干中的damaged和elites定位到最后一段第二、三句。该段第二句提到，在现代社会之前，精英们会相互争夺经济增长带来的利益，并通过战争、贪腐等方式将经济打回原形，即精英们争夺利益对经济造成了破坏。然后第三句指出，尊重法庭来解决争端可以阻止该情况的发生。由此可知，作者建议通过法庭解决纠纷来阻止经济受到精英们的破坏，故答案为D)。
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