In the above statement, the author implies that :
- (a) the entire national output produced and consumed in industrialized countries passes through commercial channels
- (b) the existence of a non-commercialized sector in different underdeveloped countries renders the national income comparisons over countries difficult ✓ UPSC's answer
- (c) no part of national output should be produced and consumed without passing through commercial channels
- (d) a part of the national output being produced and consumed without passing through commercial channels is a sign of underdevelopment
Why the answer is (b)
• The passage states that conceptual difficulties in comparing national income between underdeveloped and industrialized countries are 'particularly serious'.
• It attributes this difficulty to the fact that a part of the national output in underdeveloped countries is produced without passing through commercial channels.
• This implies that the presence of a non-commercialized sector (where goods are produced and consumed directly, bypassing markets) complicates the measurement and comparison of national income.
• Therefore, the author implies that the existence of this non-commercialized sector renders cross-country national income comparisons difficult.
• This aligns directly with option (b), which identifies the non-commercialized sector as the cause of the difficulty in comparisons.
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) the entire national output produced and consumed in industrialized countries passes…
- The passage only states that a part of output in underdeveloped countries bypasses commercial channels; it does not claim that the entire output in industrialized countries passes through them.
- (c) no part of national output should be produced and consumed without passing through…
- The passage describes a factual difficulty in measurement, not a normative opinion that output *should* pass through commercial channels.
- (d) a part of the national output being produced and consumed without passing through…
- While the passage links the phenomenon to underdeveloped countries, the specific implication highlighted is the resulting difficulty in comparison, not a definition of underdevelopment itself.
Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2016, held on 7 August 2016. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.