Live GMAT classes with Target Test Prep start Nov 21 and Nov 22. First class free.

See classes
Target Test Prep · GMAT

Choose how you want to prepare

Learn live with an expert or move at your own pace. Every option includes the complete TTP study system.

Newsweek Readers’ Choice Awards 2026 winner: Target Test Prep, #1 Test Prep

Target Test Prep was voted #1 Best Test Prep in the 2026 Newsweek Readers’ Choice™ Awards.

★★★★★5.0563 reviews
GMATLiveTeachStarts Nov 22
Josh Braslow, Target Test Prep GMAT expert
LIVE ONLINE CLASSES

Get Ready for GMAT Test Day Faster with Live Online Classes

with Josh Braslow, 20+ years in test prep

Nov 22 · Josh Braslow
Sun · 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM ET
Included
40 hours of live online classes + 6 months of TTP OnDemand
  • Attend the first class for free
  • Every class is recorded, so you never fall behind
View classes & enroll
Limited seats availableTarget Test Prep
EALiveTeachOnDemandStart anytime
EXECUTIVE ASSESSMENT

Target Test Prep EA OnDemand

Self-paced EA prep. Study on your schedule.

EXECUTIVE ASSESSMENT

with

165+ EA score guarantee
$05-day trial no automatic billing
Schedule
Included
40 hours of live online classes plus six months of access to the complete TTP EA OnDemand course.
  • 165+ EA Score Guarantee
  • 4,100+ Quant, Verbal, and Integrated Reasoning practice questions
  • 400+ hours of in-depth video lessons
  • 3,000+ step-by-step video solutions
View EA class & enroll Start free 5-day trial
Limited cohort · enrollment openTrial includes full course accessTarget Test Prep
GMATOnDemandStart anytime
SELF-PACED MASTERCLASS

Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand

Complete access from day one. Study on your schedule.

715+ score guarantee
$0to start then $127/mo
  • Personalized study plan and analytics
  • Thousands of lessons and practice questions

Pls explain

Expert replies
by dextar » Sun Jun 08, 2008 12:21 am
The oil wells of Barlandia produced so much oil that the market was overwhelmed; consumption did not keep pace with production. As a result, oil prices fell. The government of Barlandia attempted to support oil prices through a subsidy scheme: oil producers who voluntarily limited the amount of oil they produced were compensated directly by the government up to a specified maximum payment.

The program instituted by the government of Barlandia, if successful, will not be a net cost to the government. Which of the following, if true, is the best basis for an explanation of how this could be true?

1)Depressed oil prices meant operating losses for oil producers, decreasing the income of oil producers, and thus decreasing the taxes paid to the government by oil producers

2)Oil production in countries other than Barlandia declined in the same year that Barlandia's government instituted the compensatory scheme.

3) In the first quarter after Barlandia's government instituted the compensatory scheme, oil production declined 8 percent

4) Because the government specified a maximum subsidy payment per oil producer, those producers with numerous wells in production received less support per well than those producers with fewer wells in production

5) Oil producers desiring to qualify for the compensatory scheme could not continue to produce oil and simply withhold it from the market.


Hi why is option 4 wrong here.OA ia 1 here. I fail to understand y? Option 1 istalking about decreasing the taxes. If taxes decreses it will be a loss to the govt. and would serve as an additional cost which will weaken the argument and not strenghten it. Isn't it?
Join the discussion
Source: — Critical Reasoning |

by loki.gmat » Sun Jun 08, 2008 6:58 am
A - even if A is true, the income of the government will reduce & we are talking about the cost to the government.
B - out of scope.
D- assume there r only couple of owners with numerous wells & there are hundreds of owners owning less no of wells individually. if D is true, then the cost to the government will actually increase.
E - extreme answer.
C - now if there are signs of oil production declining, it might actually help the government bcoz the gap between the government specified limit and the oil producer's oil production capacity will be less. hence the government will have to dole out comparitively less.

hence IMO C.
Join the discussion

by dextar » Sun Jun 08, 2008 7:57 pm
OA is A
Join the discussion

by durgesh79 » Sun Jun 08, 2008 8:49 pm
Join the discussion

Re: Pls explain

by lunarpower » Fri Jun 13, 2008 12:14 am
dextar wrote:Option 1 istalking about decreasing the taxes. If taxes decreses it will be a loss to the govt. and would serve as an additional cost which will weaken the argument and not strenghten it. Isn't it?
no, you've got it backwards.

the loss in tax revenue occurred as a result of the depressed oil prices.

the government's subsidy scheme, if successful, will raise oil prices (this is what is meant by 'support(ing) oil prices' in the passage). this will in turn raise taxes - the necessary reverse of the situation described in choice (a) - and the resultant increase in tax revenue will redound back to the government, offsetting the cost of the subsidy.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

--

Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
Potete chiedere domande a Ron in italiano
On peut poser des questions à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi

--

Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.

Yves Saint-Laurent

--

Learn more about ron
Join the discussion

by peter.p.81 » Wed May 11, 2016 12:20 am
I believe the answer should be A
Join the discussion