Consider the following excerpt from a passage on urban economics:
"Historically, urban economists posited that cities thrive primarily due to natural geography, such as access to deepwater ports or navigable rivers. However, modern agglomeration theory emphasizes that physical proximity accelerates knowledge spillovers between specialized workers. For instance, the rapid concentration of software developers in Silicon Valley during the late twentieth century demonstrated that face-to-face interaction reduces the cost of transmitting complex, uncodified information. Although telecommunications technology has drastically lowered remote communication costs, patent citation data reveals that inventive collaboration remains disproportionately localized within metropolitan clusters. Thus, while physical transport costs have diminished in importance, interpersonal knowledge sharing continues to drive urban productivity."
Based on the passage, match each cited textual phrase with its primary rhetorical function in the author's argument.
- "natural geography, such as access to deepwater ports"Identifies an earlier theoretical perspective that modern agglomeration models qualify and move beyond
- "the rapid concentration of software developers in Silicon Valley"Serves as a historical example illustrating how spatial proximity facilitates the exchange of specialized knowledge
- "patent citation data reveals that inventive collaboration remains disproportionately localized"Presents empirical evidence countering the claim that digital communication eliminates the need for physical clustering