Citing the Fact that the Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) GMAT Reading Passage Comprehension

Reading Passage Comprehension 

Citing the fact that the real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was higher in 1997 than ever before, some journalists have argued that the United States economy performed ideally in 1997. However, the real GDP is almost always higher than ever before; it falls only during recessions. One point these journalists overlooked is that in 1997, as in the twenty-four years immediately preceding it, the real GDP per capita grew nearly one-half percent a year more slowly than it had on average between 1873 and 1973. Were the 1997 economy as robust as claimed, the growth rate of real GDP per capita in 1997 would have surpassed the average growth rate of real GDP per capita between 1873 and 1973 because over fifty percent of the population worked for wages in 1997 whereas only forty percent worked for wages between 1873 and 1973. If the growth rate of labor productivity (output per hour of goods and services) in 1997 had equaled its average growth rate between 1873 and 1973 of more than two percent, then, given the proportionately larger workforce that existed in 1997, real GDP per capita in 1997 would have been higher than it actually was, since output is a major factor in GDP. However, because labor productivity grew by only one percent in 1997, real GDP per capita grew more slowly in 1997 than it had on average between 1873 and 1973.

“Citing the fact that the real gross domestic product (GDP)”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.
This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 4 questions and answers. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions check the candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions. 

Solution and Explanation

1. The passage is primarily concerned with

(A) comparing various measures used to assess the performance of the United States economy in 1997
(B) providing evidence that the performance of the United States economy in 1997 was similar to its performance between 1873 and 1973
(C) evaluating an argument concerning the performance of the United States economy in1997
(D) examining the consequences of a popular misconception about the performance of the United States economy in 1997
(E) supporting an assertion made by journalists about the performance of the United States economy in 1997

2. According to the passage, which of the following is true of the average rate at which real GDP per capita grew in the twenty-four years immediately before 1997?

(A) It was less than it had been between 1873 and 1973 because only forty percent of the population worked for wages between 1873 and 1973.
(B) It was less than it had been between 1873 and 1973 because labor productivity grew less between 1973 and 1997 than it had between 1873 and 1973.
(C) It was less than it had been between 1873 and 1973 as a result of an increase in the percentage of the population earning wages during these years.
(D) It was less than the average rate at which real GDP per capita grew between 1873 and 1973.
(E) It was less than the rate at which real GDP per capita grew in 1997.

3. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following is the reason that the author faults the journalists referred to in highlight text?

(A) They believe that the real GDP per capita in 1997 was higher than the real GDP per capita had ever been before.
(B) They argue that the rate at which real GDP per capita grew in 1997 was faster than the average rate at which it had grown between 1873 and 1973.
(C) They overestimate the effect of labor productivity on the real GDP per capita in 1997.
(D) They overestimate the amount by which real GDP per capita in 1997 surpassed real GDP per capita in earlier years.
(E) They fail to consider the real GDP per capita in 1997 within an appropriate historical context.

4. The author of the passage asserts that "the real GDP is almost always higher than ever before" (see highlighted text) most probably in order to

(A) show that a fact cited in support of a claim is inaccurate
(B) show that a fact cited in support of a claim actually contradicts the claim
(C) show that a fact cited in support of a claim does not prove the claim
(D) explain why a fact cited in support of a claim is relevant to the claim
(E) explain how the proponent of a claim selected a fact cited in support of the claim

Suggested GMAT Reading Comprehension Samples 

• Contamination is the Unintended Presence of Harmful Substances GMAT Reading Comprehension.
• The 1956 Short Film The Red Balloon Ends with the Young Protagonist Sailing Over Paris GMAT Reading Comprehension.
• The Diversity of Species in Bacterial Communities is Often Studied by Phenotypic Characterization GMAT Reading Comprehension.
• Despite views that globalization has reached its peak GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Five years after the crash in technology shares GMAT Reading Comprehension
• In the seventeenth-century Florentine textile industry women were employed GMAT Reading Comprehension
• To remain financially sound, health insurance companies must charge GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Dark matter and dark energy have both been postulated by astrophysicists GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The existence of mammals on the earth can be traced back to at least the Triassic time GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The nub of the restorationist critique of environmental preservationism GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Many of the most popular diets today, including the so-called “Paleo diet,” GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Should the soft spring breath of kindly appreciation warm GMAT Reading Comprehension
• In Manhattan, The Beauty of The Night Sky is Only a Faded Metaphor GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The Advanced Access Content System (AACS) is a copy protection technology GMAT Reading Comprehension
• One of the first attempts to peer into the living human brain GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Nitrogen, Which Comprises 78 Percent of Earth's Atmosphere GMAT Reading Comprehension
• An Experiment Conducted Aboard Space Lab in 1983 GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The Parthenon has Long been Regarded as One of the Great Architectural GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Geologists Harris and Gass Hypothesized that the Red Sea Rift Developed GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Generally, Interspecific Matings Represent an Evolutionary Dead End, Producing Sterile Offspring GMAT Reading Comprehension