C. IN ORDER FOR THE TWO ADMINISTRATIONS TO BE COMPARED, THE SOCIOEC...

7. c. In order for the two administrations to be compared, the socioeconomic variables must be com-parable. If Winston County’s economy had relied largely upon a factory that closed down during theprevious administration, then the unemployment rate would necessarily rise considerably followingthat event. The state of the national, state, and local economies and the demographic makeup ofWinston County (e.g., no significant increase or decrease in population) need to be nearly identicalfor the speaker to make a fair comparison and claim that his or her policies are more effective. IfWinston County’s population dropped significantly (choice a), it could explain why the unemploy-ment rate dropped as well—but it does not support the speaker’s claim that his or her policies “arefar more effective.” Choice b, which reflects the state of the national economy, also offers an explana-tion for the change in unemployment rates in Winston County, again contradicting the speaker’sclaim that his or her economic policies made the difference. If the speaker had implemented key pol-icy changes (choice d) or tax incentives (choice e), they could have significantly reduced unemploy-ment. However, the unemployment rates still cannot be compared unless other variables arecomparable.