Today I got into argument with my colleague about the answer of below question.
She claims both are possible but choice 2 is the better one saying that "economics is a branch of science and if we are talking about its description, Present Simple is the answer".
It is such an easy question that I didn't put it on English Language & Usage stack. The question is below.
There have been economies since the dawn of civilization, but as a field of study, economics [...] only recently.
1) has developed
2) develops
Can someone explain why her logic is wrong? I tried but it was futile. Maybe if she can see others then she might learn something. (Answer sheet is also saying 1).
If somebody says "I am busy recently/lately" it feels like saying "I am busy two days ago". It just does not makes sense. Recently/lately means near past. I am busy these days is fine however.