Question ID:PT10 S4 Q23 Passage:Throughout European history famines have generally been followed by periods of rising wages, because when a labor force is diminished, workers are more valuable in accordance with the law of supply and demand. The Irish potato famine of the 1840s is an exception; it resulted in the death or emigration of half of Ireland’s population, but there was no significant rise in the average wages in Ireland in the following decade. Stem:Which one of the following, if true, would LEAST contribute to an explanation of the exception to the generalization? Correct Answer Choice:DChoice A:Improved medical care reduced the mortality rate among able-bodied adults in the decade following the famine to below prefamine levels. Choice B:Eviction policies of the landowners in Ireland were designed to force emigration of the elderly and infirm, who could not work, and to retain a high percentage of able-bodied workers. Choice C:Advances in technology increased the efficiency of industry and agriculture, and so allowed maintenance of economic output with less demand for labor. Choice D:The birth rate increased during the decade following the famine, and this compensated for much of the loss of population that was due to the famine. Choice E:England, which had political control of Ireland, legislated artificially low wages to provide English-owned industry and agriculture in Ireland with cheap labor.