LSAT 143 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q5

LR Question 5 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Home ownership is a sign of economic prosperity…

QUESTION TYPE: Paradox

PARADOX: Home ownership is linked with prosperity. But there is high unemployment in areas with high home ownership.

ANALYSIS: You’re allowed to use common sense on the LSAT, to form hypotheses. Most of the LSAT is based on real life situations.

I’ve read about this situation in the Economist. Articles I read there mentioned that home ownership can make it harder to switch jobs, because you can’t move as easily. Therefore, home ownership can encourage unemployment.

I went into the answers expecting to find that prephrase. If it wasn’t there, I would have considered the other answers with an open mind. But having that prephrase significantly sped me up.

If you have several months to study, I recommend the Economist to gain breath of knowledge. You’ll see a lot of stuff from the magazine appear in the LSAT.

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1. CORRECT. If you can’t move to a new job, then you may remain unemployed longer.
   (If you’re wondering how people got the house in the first place, they probably had jobs in the past. It’s just that the house makes it harder to find a new job if you lose yours.)
2. This suggests that there are more jobs in areas with homes. That deepens the paradox.
3. This suggests the paradox exists in many different countries. But it doesn’t explain the paradox.
4. This is a reason that homeowners are more likely to find jobs. It deepens the paradox.
5. This explains why home ownership is associated with wealth (economic security). When people are wealthy, they decide to buy a house.
   But this doesn’t explain why homeownership is associated with lack of a job. Losing your job is associated with economic insecurity.