1

What does "to do so" refer to in the following sentence:

Although these ambiguities formed a backdrop to the heated debates in the formulation of the WDR, the real controversy concerned the role of institutions: did they “fill in” for market failures, or did they often help to preserve existing inequalities, frequently giving rise to inefficiencies in the attempt to do so?

Development economics through decades, by Shahid Yusuf (2008), p. 147

Improve this question
5
  • So just means "that" here; you can read it as "...in the attempt to do (that thing)." Possibly useful previous questions: Meaning of "he does not do so", the usage of 'so' in ' it does so very slowly''
    – stangdon
    Commented Aug 22, 2016 at 12:51
  • @stangdon So, what that refers to here?
    – comi
    Commented Aug 22, 2016 at 12:57
  • 1
    The original sentence is not clear, as there is no reference to an "attempt". One might have expected "did they try to fill in ..." We can understand "fill in" to mean "to compensate for" or "to take action in response to".
    – TimR
    Commented Aug 22, 2016 at 13:01
  • @TRomano. Thank you for your guide. one more question: what do you think about the meaning of backdrop hear? I mean is it an accelerator for heated debates?
    – comi
    Commented Aug 22, 2016 at 13:19
  • To "form a backdrop to" something is to be a context for it. The ambiguities which "form the backdrop" to the debate are described in the original text in the paragraph that precedes your snippet. They relate to the failure of US institutions to address problems in its financial sector, and the resulting loss of confidence in those institutions as a model for other countries.
    – TimR
    Commented Aug 22, 2016 at 14:02

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
5

The phrase "do so" means, "do the thing previously mentioned". It's a way to avoid repeating the same words.

In this case, the sentence could be reworded, "Did they 'fill in' for market failures, or did they often help to preserve existing inequalities, frequently giving rise to inefficiencies in the attempt to fill in for market failures?"

But just reading that, you can probably see how it sounds repetitive.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .