|Question 2Verbal

Source Texts

Text
Although oil shocks—such as the 10% rise in oil prices in November 1970—can strongly affect individual consumers, Gbadebo Oladosu and colleagues have shown that at the level of national economies, their effects are often quite ______blank. The effect of recent oil shocks on the gross domestic product of Germany, for example, was only slightly greater than zero.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
variable
A
persistent
B
subdued
C
beneficial
D