The Great Depression has been studied in great deal by economists, primarily on account of providing insight into more recent economic conditions.
A on account of providing
B on account of its providing
C because of providing
D being it provides
E because it provides
This question is based on Idiomatic Usage and Construction.
The phrase “on account of” means “as the result of”. So, if we substitute the given phrase with the meaning, the sentence reads - The Great Depression has been studied in great deal by economists, primarily as the result of providing insight into more recent economic conditions. Since the second part of the sentence conveys a reason for the first part, the phrase “on account of” is inappropriate.
Option B contains the same phrase with the addition of the pronoun ‘its’. So, Options A and B can be eliminated.
The participle ‘being’ is completely out of place in this sentence. So, Option D can be eliminated.
The conjunction ‘because’ is appropriate in this sentence but the phrase ‘of providing’ after the conjunction is idiomatically inappropriate. So, Option C can be eliminated.
The pronoun ‘it’ in this option appropriately refers to ‘the Great Depression’. The combination of the subject and verb “it provides” after the conjunction makes the meaning of the sentence clear. Therefore, E is the most appropriate option.