IQ and the Wealth of Nations

by Richard Lynn, Tatu Vanhanen

Lynn and Vanhanen test the hypothesis on the causal relationship between the average national intelligence (IQ) and the gap between rich and poor countries by empirical evidence. Based on an extensive survey of national IQ tests, the results of their work challenge the previous theories of economic development and provide a new basis to evaluate the prospects of economic development throughout the world. They begin by reviewing and evaluating some major previous theories. The concept of intelligence is then described and intelligence quotient (IQ) introduced. Next they show that intelligence is a significant determinant of earnings within nations, and they connect intelligence with various economic and social phenomena. The sociology of intelligence at the level of sub-populations in nations is examined, and the independent (national IQ) and dependent (various measures of per capita income and economic growth rates) variables are defined and described. They then provide empirical analyses starting from the 81 countries for which direct evidence of national IQs is available; the analysis is then extended to the world group of 185 countries. The hypothesis is tested by the methods of correlation and regression analyses. The results of statistical analyses support the hypothesis strongly. The results of the analyses and various means to reduce the gap between rich and poor countries are discussed. A provocative analysis that all scholars, students, and researchers involved with economic development need to confront.

Genres: Science, Psychology, Economics, Race, Genetics, Sociology, Evolution

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

British Professor Emeritus of Psychology, who is known for his views on racial and ethnic differences.

Lynn was educated at Cambridge University. He has worked as lecturer in psychology at the University of Exeter, and as professor of psychology at the Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin, and at the University of Ulster at Coleraine.

Most of his books are about the differences of IQ between different etnicities.

Reviews

[Hang Mor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the few books in the market that conduct the studies of Intelligence of people in certain regions vis a vis the others. It is very eastern asian centric, and it is likely to draw criticism from many people for what it is trying to convey within its data. It is a taboo afterall to talk openly about the superiority of certain "races" without being branded as racist even in a liberal democracy like the UK.

[JadisDolmen · Rating 1 out of 5]

-A metodologia utilizada é a mesma pra todos os países
-A métrica é literalmente centímetro peniano
-isso tem uma média alta nesse site

Pelo amor de Deus porra

[Ostilio Portillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s an interesting dissertation as to how people’s lives are affected by their intelligence. It’s interesting to know the kind of actions & decisions we make are limited by our mental capacities which are also determined to a certain point by the surrounding environment (e.g., nutrition, education, and family environment), but to a larger extent by our genetic make-up inherited from our parents.
I already knew from previous IQ studies that there is a clear separation between the major ethnic groups (i.e., Mongoloid, Caucasian, and Negroid) in terms of cognitive levels, but I didn’t know that the Mongoloid group IQ mean ranges between 106-110, the Caucasian group around 100 (standard deviation: 15) and the Negroid group with an overall mean ranging between 75-80.
Additionally, being myself a Latino and knowing that the overall mean for Latinos is approx. 96 is gratifying to know that I can improve my score by simply studying hard. However, I just don’t believe the theory that the recorded low IQ scores for those who live in tropical regions are merely explained by the tropical conditions that hinder us. I've lived in Central America all my life and have a B.S. in agronomy, plus an MSc and a Ph.D. in plant breeding which I completed in a foreign language.
Not that I want to boast about it, but when I compared my academic achievements to those of my peers, I realize that I’m way ahead of many of them which confirm, at least for me, that we’re not all equals. At least not from an intelligence standpoint.
Unfortunately, as the author stated those with higher IQs tend to reproduce less and the ones with lower IQs tend to multiply more. Even worse, in our societies, those with lower IQs are the bulk of the population who not only decide who our authorities are to be but also (because of the lack of motivation, creativeness, and hard work orientation) constitute a major burden to our economy since they prefer to watch TV (soap operas) or play football soccer than to work, exercise or read a book.
Therefore, it is not surprising that countries in this region are impoverished and scientifically, and technologically left behind. Additionally, because of the lack employment, good sanitary conditions, high crime rates, diseases and many other factors currently affecting third world countries a lot of people decide to travel in caravans towards the USA in search of the American dream, but once they reach the Mexican-American border all they find is the American nightmare.

[Julien Comardelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compelling thesis and worth investigating the role of intelligence in development. No real discussion of parasite load, some very iffy numbers for IQ based on test samples, and some countries have made-up data that’s derived from nearby averages. Read Lynn’s more recent works on this issue.

[Daniel Barrows · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sadly, the authors don't have real data to support their central claims about the effect of national IQ on national wealth. The authors did a fair job trying to produce educated guesses for the average IQ of each nation, but the margin of error is too great to render any analysis meaningful.

It's a fascinating topic to think about. The problem of causation is not adequately discussed here. Economic status impacts the IQ of a population, and while I don't doubt that IQ impacts economic status, that isn't proven in this book. I would expect that the cognitive ability of a population would impact entrepreneurship behaviors and productivity of workers. A less brash researchers might have chosen to examine this on a smaller scale.

It seems strange to me that an author who has taken such care in adjusting his estimates for the Flynn effect simultaneously assumes that IQ is static and genetic, ignoring the likely causes of the Flynn effect, including parasites, nutrition, levels of inbreeding, education, literacy, cognitive demand of activities of daily living. All of these have significant relevance to between-country differences in IQ scores, and all of these are impacted by a country's economic circumstances.

[Adrián P. C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐Really Good.

[Fearless Leader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good data but nothing ground breaking.