In the passage, choose the correct word to fill the blank: Targeting inflation comes from a belief that policy should be _________ and transparent.

Introduction / Context:
This cloze passage discusses economic policy, specifically targeting inflation, and the qualities that good policy should have. The sentence focuses on how policy should be designed so that the private sector can understand and use it in decision making. You must choose the adjective that best describes the intended characteristic of the policy when paired with transparent.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Passage fragment: Targeting inflation comes from a belief that policy should be _________ and transparent, so that the private sector can factor this into their decision making.
• Options: elaborate, detailed, easy, simple.
• The context is economic policy design, where clarity and predictability are emphasised.
• We assume the author values straightforward rules that are not confusing or overly complex.

Concept / Approach:
In the language of economics and policy, the collocation simple and transparent is very common. It conveys the idea that rules should be easy to understand and not overly complicated. While easy might seem similar in meaning, simple captures the structural quality of the policy itself, not just the effort needed to understand it. Elaborate and detailed, on the other hand, suggest complexity and intricacy, which would contradict the goal of making policy predictable and easy to factor into decisions.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Observe the pair structure: policy should be _________ and transparent. Step 2: Think of common phrases in policy writing, such as simple and transparent rules, simple and transparent procedures, or simple and transparent frameworks. Step 3: Consider elaborate. This means complex, intricate, or richly detailed, which does not match the idea of something that is transparent and easy to use. Step 4: Consider detailed. While detailed information can be good, a detailed and transparent policy might still be complicated, not simple to factor into decisions. Step 5: Consider easy. The phrase easy and transparent is less standard; easy describes effort, while simple describes structure. Step 6: Evaluate simple, which naturally forms the widely used phrase simple and transparent, describing a straightforward, easily understood policy framework. Step 7: Conclude that simple is the best fit for both meaning and collocation.

Verification / Alternative check:
Imagine an economist writing in a newspaper: We need a simple and transparent monetary policy so that markets can predict central bank actions. This sounds natural and familiar. By contrast, elaborate and transparent policy sounds contradictory, and easy and transparent policy does not have the same well established feel. Additionally, the passage later contrasts such policy with more complicated options, reinforcing that the chosen word should highlight low complexity.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Elaborate is wrong because it implies complexity and large amounts of detail, the opposite of the intended simplicity. Detailed is wrong because detailed and transparent can still be very complex; the author is emphasising ease of understanding, not volume of information. Easy is close, but it is less idiomatic with transparent in this formal economic context; simple and transparent is the standard phrase used by economists and policy makers.

Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to choose elaborate or detailed under the impression that more detail is always good. However, in policy design, too much detail can create confusion and reduce transparency. Another pitfall is to treat easy and simple as fully interchangeable without considering collocations. In academic writing, certain adjective pairs like simple and transparent are well established, and recognising them can greatly help in cloze tests.

Final Answer:
The correct word to complete the sentence is simple, giving policy should be simple and transparent.