Agglomeration economies arise when multiple firms in related industries _____ an area, as with iron and steel production firms and cutlery and hardware manufacturers in Wolverhampton, UK. Economists have assumed that companies cluster for the same reasons, but Giulia Faggio et al. found that factors driving agglomeration in some cases are only weakly correlated with agglomeration in others.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
Explanation
Context: Agglomeration economies arise when firms [blank] "an area"—gather/cluster there.
Answer: D) amass in
Why? Gather in area = accumulate. Amass in = gather in.
Traps:
- A) intercede in → means intervene, irrelevant
- B) concur with → means agree, irrelevant
- C) appeal to → means attract, wrong direction