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CSAT 2017 paper

UPSC CSE CSAT 2017 · Question 44 · Reading comprehension

Which among the following is the most logical, rational and critical inference that can be made…

Passage—4

The IMF has pointed out that the fast growing economies of Asia face the risk of falling into ‘middle-income trap’. It means that average incomes in these countries, which till now have been growing rapidly, will stop growing beyond a point—a point that is well short of incomes in the developed West. The IMF identifies a number of causes of middle-income trap—none of which is surprising—from infrastructure to weak institutions, to less than favourable macroeconomic conditions. But the broad, overall cause, says IMF, is a collapse in the growth of productivity.

CSAT 2017 · Q44

Reading comprehension Medium

Which among the following is the most logical, rational and critical inference that can be made from the above passage?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) Once a country reaches middle-income stage, it runs the risk of falling productivity which leads to stagnant incomes.

The IMF warns that fast-growing Asian economies risk the middle-income trap, in which incomes stop rising well short of Western levels, and names a collapse in productivity growth as its broad cause. Option (a) captures this chain of risk, falling productivity and stagnant incomes.

  • ✓ (a) Middle-income trap = incomes stop growing; its overall cause = collapse in productivity growth. (a) links the two as a risk, as the passage does.
  • ✗ (b) The passage speaks of a risk, not a general characteristic; not every fast-growing economy falls into the trap.
  • ✗ (c) 'No hope at all' is extreme; a risk is not a certainty.
  • ✗ (d) The passage does not grade Asian economies' present productivity record; it explains what could cause the trap.

Remember · 'Face the risk' supports an option framed as a risk; reject options that turn a risk into a certainty or a verdict.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·

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