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  3. Population growth has long been a controversial issue in economic circles, yet, surprisingly enough, the actual study of its eff

Population growth has long been a controversial issue in economic circles, yet, surprisingly enough, the actual study of its eff

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问题     Population growth has long been a controversial issue in economic circles, yet, surprisingly enough, the actual study of its effects is fairly well established and universal. One advantage in studying the phenomena is that wild fluctuations of populations have occurred in history, and their resulting economic impacts have been accurately recorded for analysis and dissemination by economists of future generations. The most revealing incident, no doubt, is the case of the Black Plague.
    The Black Plague, which swept through Europe and robbed it of a quarter of its population, was a tragic event of its time, but yielded the ideal environment for retrospective study of population economics. The initial result that was observed was that, with the death of so many, the work force was horrendously reduced, leaving many to believe that productivity would plummet and resources would sit idle. By that reasoning, forecasters of the period predicted a catastrophic blow to the European economy from which full recovery was only a slight possibility.
    The result of the devastation left in the plague’s wake, however, was much different. While the labor force did indeed decrease dramatically in numbers, the efficiency of each individual worker improved, due to the lessened effects of economies of scale. Although total output dropped, output per capita actually increased, since each laborer was now producing more and there were less consumers to share the output. Also, resources did remain unused, but after an initial period of waste, the costs that those wasted resources represented lowered when businesses adapted to the situation by investing in the policy of buying less resources. Thus, the overall economic result was that workers were more productive, businesses were more efficient and there was more output per person in Europe.
    Wages rose as well, since the demand for labor far exceeded the supply. Nevertheless, despite these seemingly positive results, the net effect of the Black Plague in Europe was an almost undisputedly negative one. The per capita increases were more than offset by the aggregate loss in total product. From this, the keen economist must learn that the distinction between macro and micro levels of economics must be observed to obtain an accurate picture, especially when dealing with a central element of the economy as population.
We can see from the available information that______.
选项 A、with less workers crowding the workspace, individual productivity can increase
B、decreased population results in economic growth and productivity expansion
C、a lessened number of consumers leads to greater allocation of resources, aiding the economy
D、after initial periods of waste, companies will adapt by buying more resources in the future
答案A
解析 属信息推断题。第三段第二句指出：尽管劳动力人数的确骤减，但由于规模经济使其影响范围缩小，每个工人的工作效率得到提高。由此可知，选项A正确。选项B与最后一段第三句意思不符：人均增长值远不能弥补产品总量的整体损失。选项C与第三段第三、四句内容不符(……享用产品的人数减少了，人均产量有所上升，但资源确实被闲置一旁……)。选项D与第三段倒数第二句内容不符(度过最初的闲置浪费阶段之后，各公司、商行为适应形势变化，纷纷支持政府政策，投资购买较少的资源)，invariably(没有例外地)用词太绝对。
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