LSAT 155 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q24

LR Question 24 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Economist: The increase in the minimum wage in Country X…

QUESTION TYPE: Weaken

CONCLUSION: The increase in minimum wage will lead to a decrease in unemployment rates.

REASONING: Raising minimum wage increases disposable income. More disposable income means more people will spend money on consumer goods. An increased demand for consumer goods will mean there will be more factory jobs.

ANALYSIS: This is a pretty clear chain of reasoning. Higher minimum wage means more disposable income, meaning more goods purchased, meaning more jobs. The answers that weaken this will probably break this chain.

___________

1. This weakens the answer by pointing out that consumer goods might not actually be more in demand. If the prices go up, the demand won’t go up, meaning that there won’t be more jobs.
2. This weakens the answer. If most consumer goods are produced elsewhere, there won’t be more jobs in Country X when demand goes up.
3. CORRECT. This doesn’t change the argument. An increase in minimum wage will still give some people more disposable income, whether or not the factory workers are included in that group.
4. This tells us that if minimum wage goes up then factories will cut workers rather than create new jobs. This means we can’t conclude there will be more factory jobs.
5. This tells us that the factories won’t need to hire more people, because they already have extra stock. This means there won’t be more jobs.

Recap: The question begins with “Economist: The increase in the minimum wage in Country X”. It is a Weaken question. Learn more about LSAT Weaken questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.