Question 53·Medium·Cross-Text Connections
Text 1 Sociologist Anita Rao examined the first six months of a universal basic income (UBI) pilot program in Riverside County. Her surveys show that recipients reported lower stress, spent more time upgrading their skills, and applied for higher-paying jobs more frequently than non-recipients. Rao concludes that UBI promotes labor-market participation and should therefore be expanded nationwide.
Text 2 Economist Gerald Kim analyzed wage and employment records from Alaska, where every resident has received an annual oil-dividend payment since 1982. Kim finds that in the program’s early years residents worked slightly more hours, but within three years their average hours fell below the pre-dividend level. He argues that while cash transfers can yield short-term gains, they eventually weaken the incentive to work and must be evaluated over a longer horizon.
Based on the texts, how would Kim (Text 2) most likely respond to Rao’s conclusion (Text 1)?
For cross-text questions, first summarize each author’s main claim and any key limits they place on that claim (such as time frame, scope, or conditions). Then, ask how the second author would likely respond to the first author’s conclusion: would they agree, partially agree with caveats, or disagree, and for what reason? Finally, eliminate choices that introduce ideas not in the texts, that are too extreme, or that ignore the second author’s stated concerns (here, the need for long-term evaluation).
Hints
Compare the time frames
Look at how long Rao studies the UBI program in Text 1 and how long Kim examines the Alaska program in Text 2.
Focus on Kim’s warning
In Text 2, what does Kim say happens after the early years of the dividend payments, and what does he say about how such programs must be evaluated?
Think about agreement vs. critique
Does Kim’s evidence support Rao’s strong nationwide recommendation, or does it suggest a limitation or concern about her conclusion?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand Rao’s conclusion in Text 1
Rao studies the first six months of a UBI pilot. She finds lower stress, more skill-building, and more applications for higher-paying jobs among recipients. From this short-term data, she concludes that UBI promotes labor-market participation and should be expanded nationwide.
Identify Kim’s main claim in Text 2
Kim studies Alaska’s long-running dividend program using wage and employment records. He finds that people worked slightly more hours at first, but within three years average hours worked fell below the pre-dividend level. He concludes that while cash transfers can bring short-term gains, they can eventually weaken the incentive to work and therefore must be evaluated over a longer horizon.
Connect Kim’s perspective to Rao’s reasoning
Rao bases a strong, nationwide policy recommendation on only six months of data. Kim, however, stresses that early positive effects can reverse over time and that programs need long-term evaluation. So Kim would not simply accept Rao’s nationwide recommendation; instead, he would likely think her evidence is too short-term to justify it.
Match this critique to the best answer choice
We want the answer that shows Kim pushing Rao to consider longer-term labor-market effects before drawing broad conclusions. Choice D — “He would contend that Rao should study whether the positive labor-market effects of UBI persist beyond the initial months of the program.” — directly matches Kim’s emphasis on long-term evaluation, so D is correct.