A Note on the Relevance of the National Average IQ

Personality and Individual Differences, 2012

One of the most consequential parts of Richard Lynn's work is the establishment of a comprehensive data set of ''national IQ'' for nearly all countries in the world. The present contribution demonstrates the use of this database for the explanation of two economic outcomes: (1) economic growth and level of attained wealth at the country level; and (2) income distribution in countries as measured by the Gini index. The results show that high IQ is associated not only with high per-capita GDP and fast economic growth, but also with more equal income distribution. These outcomes are not mediated by educational exposure.

IQ and the Wealth of Nations, 2002

IQ and the Wealth of Nations is a 2002 book by psychologist Richard Lynn and political scientist Tatu Vanhanen. The authors argue that differences in national income (in the form of per capita gross domestic product) are correlated with differences in the average national intelligence quotient (IQ). They further argue that differences in average national IQs constitute one important factor, but not the only one, contributing to differences in national wealth and rates of economic growth

Intelligence, 2013

This paper uses data from 130 IQ test administrations worldwide and employs regression analysis to try to quantify the impact of living conditions on average IQ scores in nationally-representative samples. The study emphasizes the possible role of conditions at or near the test-takers' time of birth. The paper finds that the impact of living conditions is of much smaller magnitude than is suggested by just looking at correlations between average IQ scores and socioeconomic indicators. After controlling for test-takers' region of ancestry, the impact of parasitic diseases on average IQ is found to be statistically insignificant when test results from the Caribbean are included in the analysis. As far as IQ and the wealth of nations are concerned, causality thus appears to run mostly from the former to the latter. The test-takers' region of ancestry dominates the regression results. While differences in average scores worldwide can thus be plausibly viewed as being influenced by genetic differences across world regions, it is also possible that score differences are influenced by regional differences in culture that are independent of genetic factors. Differences in average IQ across world regions may change in the years ahead insofar as the strength of Flynn effects may not be uniform, but some regional differences in average g levels seem likely to continue indefinitely.

Intelligence, 2007

We examine the correlations between the national IQs of Lynn and Vanhanen . IQ and the wealth of nations. Westport, CT: Praeger. Westport, CT: Praeger, Lynn, R. and . IQ and global inequality. Athens, GA: Washington Summit Books.) and educational attainment scores in math and science for 10-and 14-year olds in 25 countries and 46 countries (respectively) given in the TIMSS 2003 reports. It was found that national IQs had (attenuation corrected) correlations of between 0.92 and 1.00 with scores in math and science. The results are interpreted as a validation of the national IQs. They suggest that national differences in educational attainment may be attributable to differences in IQ, or alternatively that national IQs and in educational attainment are both indicators of the mental ability of national populations. It is also shown that national IQs are positively associated with national per capita income (r = .61). It is proposed that these have a reciprocal positive feedback relationship such that each augments the other.

Qeios, 2024

Intelligence is by far the most important human trait. This holds true at the level of individuals as well as at the level of nations. The average cognitive performance of their inhabitants is the most important determinant of the social, cultural, and economic development of nations. The article considers cognitive ability of nations from the perspective of psychometric intelligence research, international student assessment studies, and Piaget’s developmental psychology. Based on up-to-date data, the national IQ of 205 countries is estimated. Then it is shown that national IQs are closely related to a wide range of variables from different domains of life. Overall, it is demonstrated that the central findings of psychometric intelligence research hold unchanged. A special feature is the consideration of non-linear relationships. Using a specific threshold model derived from Piagetian developmental psychology, it is shown that the importance of national IQs is greater than previously known.

2013

The paper investigates the relationships of cognitive human capital (a.k.a. intelligence) with growth in per capita GDP between 1975 and 2009. The following results were obtained: (1) Measures of IQ and school achievement, but not length of schooling, predict economic growth; (2) IQ and school achievement are highly correlated, and can be combined into a composite measure of intelligence; (3) The combination of high intelligence and low initial per capita income is the best predictor of economic growth for both rich and poor countries; (4) Some of the effect of intelligence on economic growth is mediated by good governance; (5) Other mediators of the intelligence effect include gross domestic savings and measures of health, as well as reduced social pathologies (crime, teenage pregnancy) in advanced economies and technological sophistication and lower fertility rates in less developed countries. The results are interpreted as showing that rising intelligence, known as the Flynn effe...

2023

Intelligence is by far the most important human trait. This holds true at the level of individuals as well as at the level of nations. The average cognitive performance of their inhabitants is the most significant determinant of the social, cultural, and economic development of nations. In recent decades, two prolific branches of research have amassed an enormous body of empirical data on national intelligence. On the one hand psychometric intelligence research, on the other hand the international student assessment studies, like PISA, TIMSS & Co. First, it is shown that the two approaches yield almost identical results. Then, a table is derived that contains the most up-to-date and comprehensive estimate of national IQ scores. Already thousands of years ago, people noticed that ethnic groups differ from each other in their cognitive abilities, even if a scientific concept was still a long way off. From the beginning of scientific psychology more than 150 years ago, intelligence was a central topic (Galton, 1869, 1883). With the advent of psychometric intelligence tests more than 100 years ago, scientifically sound information became available from different parts of the world, but comprehensive systematic research on the cognitive ability of peoples-or more precisely, nations-did not begin until the 1970s. Since then, a revolution in psychometric intelligence research has taken place, and it is inextricably linked to Richard Lynn, who, first on his own and then in cooperation with researchers from around the world, created an empirical database that is second to none. As to the origin of this phenomenal success story, let's let the author himself have his say. "I began to collect the IQs of nations in the 1970s stimulated by the rapid economic development of Japan and Singapore, and other free market countries in East Asia in the years following the World War Two... I wondered whether there might be differences in intelligence between nations that might contribute to these differences in economic development... During the 1980s I collected data for IQs for a number of countries and published a compilation in Lynn (1991). This set the British IQ at 100 (standard deviation 15), and documented studies showing that European nations also had an average IQ of 100, Northeast Asian nations had an average IQ of 106, South Asians and North African nations had an average of 84, and the sub-Saharan African nations had an average IQ of 70" (Lynn, 2018, p. 256). In 2002, in collaboration with Tutu Vanhanen, he published the seminal work " IQ and the Wealth of Nations", in which the authors presented empirical data on the intelligence levels of 81 countries and estimated scores for additional nations so that all 185 nations with populations greater than 50,000 were represented. With this data set, they confirmed Lynn's

Intelligence, 2014

Individuals that reside in the highest social stratum of intelligence (i.e., those that have a high IQ) have been shown to generate relatively more national income and are more innovative, with those that have the lowest levels of IQ being less influential on economic development. However, the degree to which all levels of IQ influence economic growth and technological innovation remains unclear. By assuming that the IQ of a population is modeled based on a bell curve, we arrange IQ into three strata, namely intellectual class, average ability citizens, and non-intellectual class, which are represented by the 95 th , 50 th , and 5 th percentiles of cognitive ability, respectively. Our multiple hierarchical regression analysis of a sample of over 60 countries shows that the intellectual class has the greatest impact on economic growth followed by average ability citizens and the non-intellectual class in that order. Moreover, we find evidence that the impact of the intellectual class on technological progress is exceptionally more significant than even the number of professional researchers engaged in R&D activities, with average ability citizens and the non-intellectual class not significant. These findings allow us to suggest that the government and private institutions should not only employ professionals with good experiences and high academic credentials, but also those who has excellent IQ levels to work in their R&D sectors. However, in order to foster economic growth, governments should invest into facilities that benefit all societal 2 groups of intelligence level, with highest priority given to the intellectual class, followed by the average ability citizens and the non-intellectual class respectively.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

In the cross-country literature, cognitive skills are robust predictors of economic growth. We investigate claims by psychologists that the same is true at the state level. In a variety of specifications using four proxies for average state IQ used in the psychology literature, little evidence is found for a robust IQ-growth relationship at the state level.

Intelligence, 2010

Human capital" is a key requirement for the establishment and maintenance of effective institutions. It is the ultimate requirement for innovation, efficient use of resources, and economic growth. This contribution describes two measures of cognitive human capital: the average IQ of the population, and the performance of school children on international scholastic assessment tests in mathematics, science, and reading. These two measures are shown to be closely correlated at the country level, and distinct from traditional measures of education. A measure of human capital is described that is derived from IQ and school achievement. Data based on measured IQ and/or school achievement are given for 168 countries and territories, and estimates based on neighboring countries with similar population, culture and economy are provided for 28 additional countries.