The answer is C merit became the basis of all civil service jobs
To protect government officials.
American foreign policy, and any country that has a foreign policy for that matter, must always be aware of the economic tendencies that are happening all over the world. Economic hardships in one country are sure to have a domino effect on others and create a worldwide economic struggle, thus, America having the need to change direction in foreign policies if needed.
So they can match data together, or confirm different findings with more opinions.