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Interstate cooperation

by akhpad » Wed Sep 15, 2010 8:41 pm
Source: Knewton

Interstate cooperation is experiencing a small resurgence among state governments in the northeastern U.S., even though political causes taken up by two or more states joined in an informal partnership draw less national attention to the needs of individual states than causes taken up by only one state. The advantage of interstate cooperation is that such joint efforts may allow individual state governments to resolve issues affecting their citizens more quickly and effectively than would be the case if states acted alone.

Which of the following is information provided by the passage?

A: Interstate cooperation involves causes too broad for a single state government to handle on its own.
B: Interstate cooperation results in a pooling of resources leading to the absolute resolution of major issues affecting all states involved.
C: Interstate cooperation has previously been both more common and less common than it is currently among state governments in the northeastern U.S.
D: Partnerships between state governments in the northeastern U.S. do not lead to the resolution of enough issues to be worthwhile.
E: Partnerships between state governments in the northeast benefit only those citizen groups that are the most politically vocal.

OA: C

in C: what does it try to convey from "both more common and less common"?
Last edited by akhpad on Thu Sep 16, 2010 11:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by bubbliiiiiiii » Thu Sep 16, 2010 12:50 am
akhpad wrote:Source: Knewton

Interstate cooperation is experiencing a small resurgence among state governments in the northeastern U.S., even though political causes taken up by two or more states joined in an informal partnership draw less national attention to the needs of individual states than causes taken up by only one state. The advantage of interstate cooperation is that such joint efforts may allow individual state governments to resolve issues affecting their citizens more quickly and effectively than would be the case if states acted alone.

Which of the following is information provided by the passage?

A: Interstate cooperation involves causes too broad for a single state government to handle on its own.
Although the last point in the passage focuses on the effectiveness on issue resolution by single government over interstate cooperation. Thus, a contender.
B: Interstate cooperation results in a pooling of resources leading to the absolute resolution of major issues affecting all states involved.
The passage does not speak anything about the resources - Irrelevant.
C: Interstate cooperation has previously been both more common and less common than it is currently among state governments in the northeastern U.S.
Inferring the passage it is observed that the issues that are taken up interstate cooperation are of less interest, hence less common, than those taken by the single state government.
D: Partnerships between state governments in the northeastern U.S. do not lead to the resolution of enough issues to be worthwhile.
This negates the passage itself - discard
E: Partnerships between state governments in the northeast benefit only those citizen groups that are the most politically vocal.
Out of scope since the passage does not classify citizens based on political influence.

in C: what does it try to convey from "both more common and less common"?
Inferring the passage it is observed that the issues that are taken up interstate cooperation are of less interest, hence less common, than those taken by the single state government.



Confused between A and C. Would pick A over C.

OA and Experts guidance please.
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by abhigang » Thu Sep 16, 2010 4:05 am
akhpad wrote:
in C: what does it try to convey from "both more common and less common"?
IMO C.

What C expresses is that the cooperation among states is more or less the same as it was in the past.
The first line of the argument talks about this. "small resurgence".

Other choices are way too broad or specific.
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by ashish2104 » Thu Sep 16, 2010 5:46 am
abhigang wrote:
akhpad wrote:
in C: what does it try to convey from "both more common and less common"?
IMO C.

What C expresses is that the cooperation among states is more or less the same as it was in the past.
The first line of the argument talks about this. "small resurgence".

Other choices are way too broad or specific.
I agree with abhigang. Answer has to be C.
First line mentions a small resurgence, meaning initially co-operation was either not present or at a low level or at a high level, but now, co-operation is on a rise. So, interstate cooperation was more common previously(at a high level)
or
insterstate cooperation was less common(at a low level)

The key here is not to assume that resurgence meant previous cooperation level was low.

Hope this helps.
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by reply2spg » Thu Sep 16, 2010 8:12 am
IMO A is correct
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by debmalya_dutta » Thu Sep 16, 2010 8:47 am
in C: what does it try to convey from "both more common and less common"?
The answer lies in the word "resurgence" which means that at some point in the past it was common...then it subsided and now it is starting to get attention .....

Will go with C
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by paddle_sweep » Thu Sep 16, 2010 5:47 pm
By POE, you will be left with 'C' and as Deb said the word 'resurgence' helps to conclude that 'C' is the correct answer.
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by akhpad » Fri Sep 17, 2010 10:31 am
ashish2104 wrote:
abhigang wrote:
akhpad wrote:
in C: what does it try to convey from "both more common and less common"?
IMO C.

What C expresses is that the cooperation among states is more or less the same as it was in the past.
The first line of the argument talks about this. "small resurgence".

Other choices are way too broad or specific.
I agree with abhigang. Answer has to be C.
First line mentions a small resurgence, meaning initially co-operation was either not present or at a low level or at a high level, but now, co-operation is on a rise. So, interstate cooperation was more common previously(at a high level)
or
insterstate cooperation was less common(at a low level)

The key here is not to assume that resurgence meant previous cooperation level was low.

Hope this helps.
Its good catch from all of you. Thanks
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by adi_800 » Sat Sep 18, 2010 6:20 am
One more copy paste...

Below is a q from OG Verbal review...

Transnational cooperation among corporations is experiencing a modest renaissance among United States firms．even though projects undertaken by two or more corporations under a collaborative agreement are less profitable than projects undertaken by a single corporation．The advantage of transnational cooperation is that such joint international projects may allow United States firms to win foreign contracts that they would not otherwise be able to win．

43．Which of the following is information provided by the passage above?
(A) Transnational cooperation involves projects too big for a single corporation to handle．
(B) Transnational cooperation results in a pooling of resources leading to high-quality performance．
(C) Transnational cooperation has in the past been both more common and less common than it Is now among United States firms．
(D) Joint projects between United States and foreign corporations are not profitable enough to be worth undertaking．
(E) Joint projects between United States and foreign corporations benefit only those who commission the projects．


renaissance changed to resurgence and you have a new question..lol
:P
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by lokesh r » Sat Sep 18, 2010 1:30 pm
adi_800 wrote:One more copy paste...

Below is a q from OG Verbal review...

Transnational cooperation among corporations is experiencing a modest renaissance among United States firms．even though projects undertaken by two or more corporations under a collaborative agreement are less profitable than projects undertaken by a single corporation．The advantage of transnational cooperation is that such joint international projects may allow United States firms to win foreign contracts that they would not otherwise be able to win．

43．Which of the following is information provided by the passage above?
(A) Transnational cooperation involves projects too big for a single corporation to handle．
(B) Transnational cooperation results in a pooling of resources leading to high-quality performance．
(C) Transnational cooperation has in the past been both more common and less common than it Is now among United States firms．
(D) Joint projects between United States and foreign corporations are not profitable enough to be worth undertaking．
(E) Joint projects between United States and foreign corporations benefit only those who commission the projects．


renaissance changed to resurgence and you have a new question..lol
:P


Explanation in OG 10 for the above question...

Main point in the question is to understand meaning of word renaissance/resurgance..

Hope this helps..


To say that transnational cooperation is experiencing a modest renaissance means that it used to be relatively
common, became less so, and is now becoming more common again. Therefore choice C is the best answer,
since it follows from that statement.
None of the other choices presents information provided by the passage. The passage says nothing about the
size of the projects (choice A), nor about the quality of work in cases of transnational cooperation (choice B).
Since the passage strongly suggests transnational cooperation can be profitable for the firms concerned, it
thereby tends to contradict both the claims that joint projects are not profitable (choice D) and that they only
benefit those who commission the projects (choice E).
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by gmat1011 » Fri Dec 24, 2010 7:01 am
according to the dictionary "resurgence" means:
# A continuing after interruption; a renewal.
# A restoration to use, acceptance, activity, or vigor; a revival.

so yes, I can accept that Interstate cooperation was previously more common than what it is now...
Higher Interstate Coop ----> Period of lull ---->Again Moving towards Higher Interstate Coop

But I can not believe "resurgence" gives you the license to say Interstate cooperation was previously LESS common than what it is now

C has an AND: Interstate cooperation has previously been both more common AND less common than it is currently among state governments in the northeastern U.S.; because of the AND both more common and less common have to be true....

If Interstate cooperation was previously less common than what it is now then how can a return to the same lower level be called a "resurgence"? --- that would be a decline.... "resurgence" as a word is used to describe positive movements not a decline

And how can one say merely because the word "resurgence" is used that Interstate Coop was both less common AND more common in the past??

C should have just stopped with more common and omitted less common: (C) Interstate cooperation has previously been more common than it is currently among state governments in the northeastern U.S.; in my view to make sense...

You can say A is "too extreme" --- thats what the explanation says on Knewton --- but that is just so vague.... C I find is wrong the way it tries to squeeze "less common" (with an AND thrown in to boot) into the meaning of the word "resurgence"
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by Geva@EconomistGMAT » Sun Dec 26, 2010 2:03 am
gmat1011 wrote:according to the dictionary "resurgence" means:
# A continuing after interruption; a renewal.
# A restoration to use, acceptance, activity, or vigor; a revival.

so yes, I can accept that Interstate cooperation was previously more common than what it is now...


But I can not believe "resurgence" gives you the license to say Interstate cooperation was previously LESS common than what it is now

C has an AND: Interstate cooperation has previously been both more common AND less common than it is currently among state governments in the northeastern U.S.; because of the AND both more common and less common have to be true....

If Interstate cooperation was previously less common than what it is now then how can a return to the same lower level be called a "resurgence"? --- that would be a decline.... "resurgence" as a word is used to describe positive movements not a decline

And how can one say merely because the word "resurgence" is used that Interstate Coop was both less common AND more common in the past??

C should have just stopped with more common and omitted less common: (C) Interstate cooperation has previously been more common than it is currently among state governments in the northeastern U.S.; in my view to make sense...

You can say A is "too extreme" --- thats what the explanation says on Knewton --- but that is just so vague.... C I find is wrong the way it tries to squeeze "less common" (with an AND thrown in to boot) into the meaning of the word "resurgence"
You have basically answered yourself with this:

Higher Interstate Coop ----> Period of lull ---->Again Moving towards Higher Interstate Coop

If we were to put numbers on a 1-10 scale (10 being the highest level of cooperation) to these points above, what would those numbers be?

Higher interstate coop = ~9 (let's not give them a 10, shall we?)
Period of lull = less cooperation = ~3-5
small resurgence Again Moving towards Higher Interstate Coop =~7-8 (not reached same level as before, but moving there - it's a small resurgence)
Thus, from the vantage of our current ;eve; of 7-8, past cooperation has been indeed higher (9) and lower (3-5) at different times in the past: we've seen huge cooperation (higher), then a drop (lower), now a resurgence.

The problem with C is that it's not the MAIN peace of information, but rather a minute detail, so the other answer choices are seem more tempting. However, there's not arguing against the fact that the argument does indeed convey the information in C.
The same cannot be said of A, which is indeed too extreme: the argument uses "more quickly and effectively", which implies that the individual state could handle the issue on their own, if they wanted too - just not as quickly or effectively - so saying that cooperation involves causes too broad for a state to handle on its own is indeed going too far.

The main takeaway from this question is to refrain from going too far from the text in inference questions. An example of GMAT logic: if you walk into the room, and you are soaking wet, I cannot infer that it is raining, or that it is winter, or in fact, the liquid you're soaked with is even "water". These would be conclusions that are not supported by the premises given, i.e., you are soaking wet. The only inference I can reach with certainty based on such flimsy evidence is that you have come in contact with some liquid, recently.
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by gmat1011 » Sun Dec 26, 2010 2:34 am
Thanks Geva --- that does clarify things...

lol - for some weird reason I interpreted the term "resurgence" as indicating 2 separate movements:

from 7-8 level to 3-5; and
from 7-8 level to 9

from 7-8 to 9 is a resurgence, a positive movement...

yes --- you explained it beautifully. Thanks.
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by karthikpandian19 » Sat Jun 30, 2012 3:24 am
OE is


Even though it does not draw as much attention to the needs of individual states, interstate cooperation is becoming more common again because it allows individual state governments to resolve issues affecting their citizens more quickly and effectively than acting alone would.

The question asks for information that is given in the passage.

The most effective strategy for answering this question is to eliminate each answer choice that does not contain information clearly stated in the passage. The remaining answer choice will be correct.

Choice A says that interstate cooperation involves issues too wide-ranging to be handled any single state government. This is similar to the claim in the passage that joint ventures allow individual governments to resolve issues more quickly and effectively, but it is too extreme. There is no indication that any single issue is too wide-ranging for any one government.

Choice B states that interstate cooperation leads to a pooling of resources which in turn leads to the absolute resolution of the issues affecting the cooperating states. The passage says nothing about major issues being resolved absolutely. This choice is too extreme.

Choice C says that interstate cooperation has, in the past, been both more common and less common among state governments in the northeast than it is now. The passage states that interstate cooperation is experiencing a small resurgence among state governments in the northeastern U.S. This means that, in the past, interstate cooperation was both more common and less common than it is now. Choice C is correct.

Choice D says that partnerships between state governments in the northeast do not result in the resolution of enough issues to be worthwhile. The passage says the opposite of this.

Choice E states that partnerships between state governments in the northeast are beneficial only to the most politically outspoken citizen groups. The passage says that interstate partnerships benefit the citizens of individual states; it does not say anything about which citizens benefit.

Choice C is correct.
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