'の使い方
The primary catalyst for its rise to prominence in the mid-twentieth century was scholars' and academics' leveraging it as a response to growing concerns about the economic outlook for poorer countries plagued by recession as a result of World War ll.
scholars' and academics' leveraging it〜
ここの繋ぎ方がよく分かりません。文の意味は分かるんですが、文法的に理解ができませんでした。よろしくお願いします。
回答
The primary catalyst for its rise to prominence in the mid-twentieth century was scholars' and academics' leveraging it as a response to...
The primary catalyst
（ for its rise to prominence ）
（ in the mid-twentieth century ）
was scholars' and academics' leveraging it
as a response to...
という分け方になります。
つまり、
The primary catalyst was scholars' / academic's leveraging it
ということが言いたいわけですが、更に所有代名詞を使ってまとめると
The primary catalyst was their leveraging it.
となります。
述語の部分を their leveraging it としているところは、つまり
leveraging it by them / leveraging it by scholars' and academics'
ということで、この by 以下の部分を所有格にしてしまって、文を引き締めている（ leveraging に注目するように）わけです。
（この leveraging は leverage の動名詞で、後ろの it は他動詞 leverage が要求する目的語ですが、この文ではおそらく前述のことのようなので、代名詞 it があてられています。）
このような所有格+動名詞の使い方は、やや文語的な（かたい）ニュアンスがありますが、よく使われます。
The cause of the vehicle's mechanical malfunction is believed to be the technicians' and their managers' negligence of their routine maintenance protocols.
= It is believed that the mechanical malfunction of the vehicle was caused by the negligence by the technicians and their managers of their routine maintenance protocols.