Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks to identify the advantages of using capital-intensive production techniques.
Step 2: Key Concept:
A capital-intensive technique is a method of production that uses a higher proportion of capital (machinery, automation, technology) relative to human labour.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Let's analyze the options:
- (A) Rapid economic growth: Capital-intensive industries often involve advanced technology, economies of scale, and high levels of productivity per worker. This high productivity and large-scale output can contribute significantly and quickly to a country's GDP, thereby fostering rapid economic growth. This is a major advantage.
- (B) Social influence: This is a vague and not a direct economic advantage of this production technique.
- (C) Increase in employment opportunities: This is generally a disadvantage of capital-intensive techniques. Since these methods replace human labour with machines, they can lead to lower demand for unskilled and semi-skilled labour, potentially causing unemployment.
- (D) All of these: This option is incorrect because (C) is a disadvantage, not an advantage.
Step 4: Final Answer
The primary advantage of a capital-intensive technique is its potential to achieve high productivity and scale, which leads to rapid economic growth.