An author states: 'Since crime rates decreased after our city installed more streetlights, the new streetlights are directly responsible for the reduction.' An effective critique of this argument would primarily focus on:

The correct answer to the question "An author states: 'Since crime rates decreased after our city installed more streetlights, the new streetlights are directly responsible for the reduction.' An effective critique of this argument would primarily focus on:" is Option B: Identifying other potential factors that could have also contributed to the decrease in crime..

The other options — A) Questioning the cost-effectiveness of installing more streetlights., C) Debating the precise definition of 'crime rate' used in the argument., D) Proposing alternative solutions for crime reduction that are more innovative. — are incorrect for this GMAT Exam Prep question. As explained above: This argument makes a causal claim based on correlation (post hoc, ergo propter hoc). An effective critique would suggest alternative causes for the crime reduction, weakening the asserted causal lin…