Question

debates over how to measure national well - being have long shaped global economic policy. before the publication of the human development index (hdi) in 1990, policymakers ___ mainly on gdp as a measure of national progress. the hdi, which incorporates life expectancy, education, and income, challenged this narrow view and prompted a more holistic understanding of development. 4 mark for review which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of standard english? a have relied b had relied c will rely d would have relied

Explanation:

To determine the correct verb tense, we analyze the context. The phrase "Before the publication of the HDI in 1990" indicates a past action that was completed before another past event (the publication in 1990). The past perfect tense ("had + past participle") is used to show an action that occurred before another past action.

• Option A ("have relied") is present perfect, which doesn't fit the past - before - past context.
• Option C ("will rely") is future tense, which is incorrect as we are dealing with a past situation.
• Option D ("would have relied") is used in conditional or hypothetical situations, which is not the case here.
• Option B ("had relied") is in the past perfect tense, which correctly shows that the reliance on GDP happened before the publication of the HDI in 1990.

Answer:

B. had relied