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The relationship between formal education and economic growth
in poor countries is widely misunderstood by economists and politicians alike
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
of 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.
More recently, while examining housing construction, the
researchers discovered that illiterate, non-English- speaking Mexican workers
in Houston, Texas, consistently met best-practice labor productivity standards
despite the complexity of the building industry's work.
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, 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 forested future. On the
contrary, constraints on improving productivity explain why education isn't
developing more quickly there than it is.
31. The author holds in
paragraph 1 that the important of education in poor countries ___________.
[A] is subject groundless doubts
[B] has fallen victim of bias
[C] is conventional downgraded
[D] has been overestimated
32. It is stated in
paragraph 1 that construction of a new education system __________.
[A] challenges economists and politicians
[B] takes efforts of generations
[C] demands priority from the government
[D] requires sufficient labor force
33. A major difference between
the Japanese and U.S workforces is that __________.
[A] the Japanese workforce is better disciplined
[B] the Japanese workforce is more productive
[C] the U.S workforce has a better education
[D] the U.S workforce is more organize
34. The author quotes the
example of our ancestors to show that education emerged __________.
[A] when people had enough time
[B] prior to better ways of finding food
[C] when people on longer went hung
[D] as a result of pressure on government
35. According to the last
paragraph , development of education __________.
[A] results directly from competitive environments
[B] does not depend on economic performance
[C] follows improved productivity
[D] cannot afford political changes
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