Progress in both area is undoubtedly necessary for the social, political and intellectual development of these and all other societies; however, the conventional view that education should be one of the very highest priorities for promoting rapid economic development in poor countries is wrong. We are fortunate that is it, because new educational systems there and putting enough people through them to improve economic performance would require two or three generations. The findings of a research institution have consistently shown that workers in all countries can be trained on the job to achieve radical higher productivity and, as a result, radically higher standards of living. Ironically, the first evidence for this idea appeared in the United States. Not long ago, with the country entering a recessing and Japan at its pre-bubble peak, the U.S. workforce was derided as poorly educated and one primary cause of the poor U.S. economic performance. Japan was, and remains, the global leader in automotive-assembly productivity. Yet the research revealed that the U.S. factories of Honda, Nissan, and Toyota achieved about 95 percent of the productivity of their Japanese counterparts--a result of the training that U.S. workers received on the job. What is the real relationship between education and economic development? We have to suspect that continuing economic growth promotes the development of education even when governments don't force it. After all, that's how education got started. When our ancestors were hunters and gatherers 10,000 years ago, they didn't have time to wonder much about anything besides finding food. Only when humanity began to get its food in a more productive way was there time for other things. As education improved, humanity's productivity potential increased as well. When the competitive environment pushed our ancestors to achieve that potential, they could in turn afford more education. This increasingly high level of education is probably a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for the complex political systems required by advanced economic performance. Thus poor countries might not be able to escape their poverty traps without political changes that may be possible only with broader formal education. A lack of formal education, however, doesn't constrain the ability of the developing world's workforce to substantially improve productivity for the foreseeable future. On the contrary, constraints on improving productivity explain why education isn't developing more quickly there than it is. The author holds in Paragraph I that the importance of education in poor countries_________. A. is subject to groundless doubts B. has fallen victim to bias C. is conventionally downgraded D. has been overestimated

A. is subject to groundless doubts
B. has fallen victim to bias
C. is conventionally downgraded
D. has been overestimated

参考答案与解析:

相关试题

The solution to the problems()social and political reforms.

The solution to the problems()social and political reforms.A. stands forB. stick

  • 查看答案
  • They hoped their work would ________ social change and progress.

    They hoped their work would ________ social change and progress.A. deduceB. intr

  • 查看答案
  • Asindustrialization changed the geographical,social and political face of Britain,leisuretime was [c

    [单选题]Asindustrialization changed the geographical,social and political face of B

  • 查看答案
  • Poor health andlack of money may both be to educational progress [roadblocks].

    [单选题]Poor health andlack of money may both be to educational progress [roadblock

  • 查看答案
  • Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity. Others sa

    Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and p

  • 查看答案
  • Poor health andlack of money may both be [roadblocks] to educational progress.

    [单选题]Poor health andlack of money may both be [roadblocks] to educational progre

  • 查看答案
  • Change the form when necessary. opponent intellectual artificial put.

    Change the form when necessary. opponent intellectual

  • 查看答案
  • She argues that watching too much TV is ________ to a child’s intellectual and social development.

    She argues that watching too much TV is ________ to a child’s intellectual and s

  • 查看答案
  • As both a religionand a social force,Puritanism has made [a widespread] influence in the United Stat

    [单选题]As both a religionand a social force,Puritanism has made [a widespread] inf

  • 查看答案
  • As both areligion and a social force,Puritanism has made a [widespread] influence in theUnited State

    [单选题]As both areligion and a social force,Puritanism has made a [widespread] inf

  • 查看答案