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  3. Forty years ago Singapore, now home to the world’s busiest port, was a forlorn outpost still garrisoned by the British. In 1961

Forty years ago Singapore, now home to the world’s busiest port, was a forlorn outpost still garrisoned by the British. In 1961

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问题     Forty years ago Singapore, now home to the world’s busiest port, was a forlorn outpost still garrisoned by the British. In 1961 South Korea was less industrialized than the North and dependent on American aid. These countries, and many of their neighbours, have since traded their way out of poverty. Given their success, it is easy to forget that some development economists were once prey to "export fatalism". Poor countries, they believed, had little to gain from venturing into the world market. If they tried to expand their exports, they would thwart each other, driving down the price of their commodities.
    The financial crisis of the past nine months is stirring a new export fatalism in the minds of some economists. Even after the global economy recovers, developing countries may find it harder to pursue a policy of "export-led growth", which served countries like South Korea so well. Under this strategy, sometimes called "export fetishism" , countries spur sales abroad, often by keeping their currencies cheap. Some save the proceeds in foreign-currency reserves, rather than spending them on imports. This strategy is one reason why the developing world’s current-account surplus exceeded $700 billion in 2008, as measured by the IMF. In the past, these surpluses were offset by American deficits. But America may now rethink the bargain. This imbalance, whereby foreigners sell their goods to America in exchange for its assets, was one potential cause of the country’s financial crisis.
    If this global bargain does come unstuck, how should developing countries respond? In a new paper, Dani Rodrik of Harvard University offers a novel suggestion. He argues that developing countries should continue to promote exportables, but no longer promote exports. What’s the difference? An exportable is a good that could be traded across borders, but need not be. Mr Rodrik’s recommended policies would help countries make more of these exportables, without selling quite so many abroad.
    Countries grow by shifting labour and investment from traditional activities, where productivity is stagnant, to new industries, which abound in economies of scale or opportunities to assimilate better techniques. These new industries usually make exportable goods, such as cotton textiles or toys. But whatever the fetishists believe, there is nothing special about the act of exporting itself, Mr. Rodrik argues. For example, companies do not need to venture abroad to feel the bracing sting of international competition. If their products can be traded across borders, then foreign rivals can compete with them at home.
    As countries industrialize and diversify, their exports grow, which sometimes results in a trade surplus. These three things tend to go together. But in a statistical "horse race" between the three—industrialization, exports and exports minus imports—Mr. Rodrik finds that it is the growth of tradable, industrial goods, as a share of GDP, that does most of the work.  
According to the passage, some development economists hold the idea that
选项 A、foreign aid is the key factor to poor countries’ economy.
B、world market is not fit to the poor countries.
C、poor countries’ goods can sell a good price through world market.
D、Singapore and South Korea’s success has proved their ideas.
答案B
解析 事实细节题。由题干关键词some development economists hold the idea定位至第一段。由该段倒数第二句可知，这些发展经济学家坚持的“出口宿命论”认为：进人世界市场后，贫穷的国家很难有所得，[B]与之相符，故为正确答案。第一段第二句虽然提及韩国依赖美国的援助，但是并不能说明国外援助是贫穷国家经济发展的关键因素，故排除[A]；这些发展经济学家认为扩大进出口贸易会压低商品价格，故排除[C]；由第一段第三、四句可知，新加坡和韩国的成功是这些经济学家理论的反例，故排除[D]。
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