IQ and Global Inequality [Hardcover]

Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 10, 2006

From the Preface: We address the following questions. First, in Chapter 1, we review the major theories of economic growth that have been developed since this problem was considered by Charles de Montesquieu and Adam Smith in the eighteenth century and introduce the 192 countries of this study. In Chapter 2 we define and describe what is meant by intelligence. In Chapter 3, we summarise work showing that intelligence is a determinant of incomes and related phenomena (educational attainment and socio-economic status) among individuals in a number of countries; this is the basis of our theory that the intelligence of national populations is likely to be a determinant of per capita incomes among nations. Chapter 4 describes how we have collected and quantified the IQs of nations and presents new IQ data for a further 32 nations. This brings the total number of nations for which we have measured IQs to 113. In addition, national IQs are estimated for 79 other countries so that we have IQs for all countries with populations of more than 40,000. In Chapter 5, five measures of the quality of human conditions and their composite index (QHC) are introduced as well as 12 alternative variables that measure human conditions from different perspectives. In Chapter 6, the hypothesis on the positive relationship between national IQ and the quality of human conditions is tested by empirical evidence on PPP GNI (Gross National Income at Purchasing Power Parity) per capita in 2002, adult literacy rate in 2002, tertiary enrollment ratio, life expectancy at birth in 2002, and the level of democratization in 2002. Chapter 7 focuses on the relationship between national IQ and the composite index of the quality of human conditions (QHC) The results are analyzed at the level of single countries on the basis of regression analyses. The results are checked by exploring the impact of latitude and annual mean temperature on human conditions through national IQ. Chapter 8 shows that national

Editorial Reviews

Review

This new book by Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen is an elaboration and extension of their IQ and the Wealth of Nations (2002) in which they showed that IQ scores correlated around 0.70 with per capita income and rates of economic development in over 81 countries. This was a very bold claim. The cause of national differences in wealth is one of the major problems in economics. Hundreds of books have been written on the subject and several journals are devoted to it. Only very rarely is it ever suggested that national differences in intelligence help determine why some nations are so rich while others are so poor. In my view, Lynn and Vanhanen have made what is arguably the most important contribution to economic understanding since Adam Smith showed that free markets promote economic development. They have shown also that national IQs explain much of the variation between nations in a wide range of economic and social phenomena--not just income levels. Their book extends the explanatory power of the concept of intelligence in a way that makes a major contribution to the integration of psychology with the other social sciences. In advancing their intelligence theory, Lynn and Vanhanen begin by noting that economists usually regard it as axiomatic that all peoples of the world have the same intelligence. The assumption that the average level of intelligence is the same in all nations is seriously wrong. Lynn and Vanhanen have examined the matter. They found huge national differences in intelligence. Some countries in sub-Saharan Africa appear to have average IQs of 67. Some of the "Asian Tiger" nations of the Pacific Rim average out at 105. For perspective, the reader might note that an IQ of 70 is the lower limit for primary school educability, and an IQ of 105 the lower limit for College-level (although of course these can always be "dumbed down." In IQ & Global Inequality, Lynn and Vanhanen have increased the number of countries for which they have calculated measured IQs from 81 to 113. They show that in the new larger sample of 113 countries the correlation between IQ and per capita income for 2002 is 0.68, virtually identical to the correlation reported in their earlier book. A path model in which genes and environment both contribute equally (0.50) to national IQs allows a determination of economic growth (0.71) from 1500 to 2000. These national differences in the rate of economic growth are almost entirely responsible for the contemporary differences in per capita income (0.98). The model also posits that national IQs are determinants of a number of social phenomena such as adult literacy (0.64), enrolment in tertiary education (0.75), life expectancy (0.77), and democratisation (0.57). Some of these phenomena have positive feedback relationships. For instance, nations whose populations have high IQs have high per capita incomes, which enable them to provide high quality nutrition, education, and health care for their children, and these enhance their children's intelligence. This is the principle of genotype-environment correlation applied to national populations. IQ & Global Inequality addresses more fundamentally the question of the causes of national differences in intelligence. It concludes that these depend on the racial composition of the populations. Thus, the 6 East Asian nations (China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore) all have IQs in the range of 105 to 108. The 29 European nations all have IQs in the range of 92 to 102, while the 19 nations of sub-Saharan Africa all have IQs in the range of 59 to 73. Thus there is remarkable consistency in the IQs of nations when these are classified into racial clusters. Like many important discoveries in science, it seems obvious in retrospect that these national differences in intelligence must inevitably --J. Philippe Rushton --This text refers to the Perfect Paperback edition.

About the Author

RICHARD LYNN is Emeritus Professor of Psychology of the University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland. He graduated in Psychology at the University of Cambridge and has held positions at the University of Exeter and the Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin. Among his earlier books are Dysgenics: Genetic Deterioration in Modern Populations (1996) and Eugenics: A Reassessment (2001), IQ and the Wealth of Nations (Co-author, 2002), and Race Differences in Intelligence (2006). TATU VANHANEN is Emeritus Professor of Political Science of the University of Tempere, Finland, and Emeritus Docent of Political Science of the University of Helsinki. He became Doctor of Social Sciences at the University of Tampere in 1968 and has held positions at the University of Jyväskylä , at the University of Tampere and the University of Helsinki. Among his earlier books are The Process of Democratization: A Comparative Study of 147 States, 1980-88 (1990), On the Evolutionary Roots of Politics (1992), Prospects of Democracy: A study of 172 Countries (1997), Ethnic Conflicts Explained by Ethnic Nepotism (1999) and IQ and the Wealth of Nations (Co-author, 2002).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 442 pages
• Publisher: Washington Summit Publishers; 1st edition (November 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593680252
• ISBN-13: 978-1593680251
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,363,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

90 of 98 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Important Contribution to Economic Understanding since Adam Smith, December 11, 2006

By 

J. P. Rushton "Prof" (University of Western Ontario) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: IQ and Global Inequality (Hardcover)

This new book by Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen is an elaboration and extension of their IQ and the Wealth of Nations (2002) in which they showed that IQ scores correlated around 0.70 with per capita income and rates of economic development in over 81 countries.

This was a very bold claim. The cause of national differences in wealth is one of the major problems in economics. Hundreds of books have been written on the subject and several journals are devoted to it. Only very rarely is it ever suggested that national differences in intelligence help determine why some nations are so rich while others are so poor.

In my view, Lynn and Vanhanen have made what is arguably the most important contribution to economic understanding since Adam Smith showed that free markets promote economic development.

They have shown also that national IQs explain much of the variation between nations in a wide range of economic and social phenomena--not just income levels.

Their book extends the explanatory power of the concept of intelligence in a way that makes a major contribution to the integration of psychology with the other social sciences.

In advancing their intelligence theory, Lynn and Vanhanen begin by noting that economists usually regard it as axiomatic that all peoples of the world have the same intelligence.

The assumption that the average level of intelligence is the same in all nations is seriously wrong. Lynn and Vanhanen have examined the matter. They found huge national differences in intelligence. Some countries in sub-Saharan Africa appear to have average IQs of 67. Some of the "Asian Tiger" nations of the Pacific Rim average out at 105.

For perspective, the reader might note that an IQ of 70 is the lower limit for primary school educability, and an IQ of 105 the lower limit for College-level (although of course these can always be "dumbed down."

In IQ & Global Inequality, Lynn and Vanhanen have increased the number of countries for which they have calculated measured IQs from 81 to 113. They show that in the new larger sample of 113 countries the correlation between IQ and per capita income for 2002 is 0.68, virtually identical to the correlation reported in their earlier book.

A path model in which genes and environment both contribute equally (0.50) to national IQs allows a determination of economic growth (0.71) from 1500 to 2000. These national differences in the rate of economic growth are almost entirely responsible for the contemporary differences in per capita income (0.98). The model also posits that national IQs are determinants of a number of social phenomena such as adult literacy (0.64), enrolment in tertiary education (0.75), life expectancy (0.77), and democratisation (0.57).

Some of these phenomena have positive feedback relationships. For instance, nations whose populations have high IQs have high per capita incomes, which enable them to provide high quality nutrition, education, and health care for their children, and these enhance their children's intelligence. This is the principle of genotype-environment correlation applied to national populations.

IQ & Global Inequality addresses more fundamentally the question of the causes of national differences in intelligence. It concludes that these depend on the racial composition of the populations. Thus, the 6 East Asian nations (China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore) all have IQs in the range of 105 to 108. The 29 European nations all have IQs in the range of 92 to 102, while the 19 nations of sub-Saharan Africa all have IQs in the range of 59 to 73. Thus there is remarkable consistency in the IQs of nations when these are classified into racial clusters.

Like many important discoveries in science, it seems obvious in retrospect that these national differences in intelligence must inevitably determine differences in economic development. Indeed, it seems astonishing that no-one had hitherto advanced this simple thesis, even before the recent Dark Age of Political Correctness closed in.

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing--and controversial--thesis, March 11, 2007

By 

Steven A. Peterson (Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL)) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: IQ and Global Inequality (Hardcover)

(Co-authored by Albert Somit and Steven Peterson)

IQ and Global Inequality is a sequel to the authors' earlier IQ and the Wealth of Nations wherein they argued that "...national differences in intelligence are an important factor contributing to differences in national wealth and rates of economic growth" (p.2). Lynn and Vanhanen here turn their attention from wealth to national differences in development and to differing levels of national economic, social and political achievement (And we have spoken ourselves of the role of evolution in political achievement, specifically the development of democracy. See, for instance, our "The Failure of Democratic Nation Building").

They have also expanded the scope of the study: In 2002, they gave "measured IQ" for 81 nations, they now offer measured IQ for 113 countries and "estimated" IQ for another 79; the number of countries for which development data are presented has also been increased, from 185 in 2002 to 192 in 2006. The basic findings, however, remain unchanged: As the authors staunchly reaffirm in their final conclusion, "...the major cause of global inequalities can be traced to the diversity of human aptitudes and especially to significant differences in the mental abilities of nations measured by national IQ" (p. 275). In short, that the difference in intelligence between the populations of affluent and of impoverished nations is a major - but not the only - cause of that economic inequality. Put even more bluntly, that nations differ in wealth in large part because their populations differ in intelligence. This book, we can safely predict, will receive a mixed reception. However, we commend the authors for their intellectual courage and for their genuine effort to establish the statistical relationships that they theorize, using real data.

Their first task is to present data showing that intelligence is heritable, and here they rely heavily, though not entirely, on studies of twins conducted in a near dozen countries. They then present several nation-by-nation studies indicating, respectively, that income, educational attainment, and social status are also heritable. Since "...intelligence, earnings, educational attainment, and socioeconomic status all have moderate to high heritabilities within nations," they feel safely in concluding that "... intelligence and earnings have at least a moderate heritability between nations" (pp. 235-236).

Why do nations differ from one another in these respects? Messrs. Lynn and Vanhanen leap from the frying pan into the fire -"The genetic basis for national differences in intelligence lies in the racial identity of the populations" (p.236). Drawing heavily on published research by Prof. Lynn, they present (and discuss at some length) 9 tables dealing with "The intelligence of nations categorized by race "(p. 238), the "National IQs in Latin America and the Caribbean predicted from racial composition of the population," (p. 241), and (and we would say needlessly) "Race differences in brain size (cc) and intelligence"(p. 243).

In all fairness, we should promptly add, the authors end their discussion of racial differences by reminding the reader that, as noted above, they "... also believe that environmental factors (for instance, `sub-optimal nutrition and poor health') contribute to the national differences in intelligence"

"National differences in intelligence," the authors insist, "are an important factor contributing to differences in national wealth and rates of economic growth." Have the authors made a plausible case? That, the reader must judge for him or herself.

In conclusion, though, we should mention one issue not really addressed in the book. As we have recently seen, some nations -- the "Asian Tigers" immediately come to mind -- have achieved truly striking gains in national wealth within the course of little more than a single generation. Given the authors' contention that national IQ is heritable and their basic thesis that "... national IQ is the most powerful explanatory variable. . .in accounting for differences in national wealth. . .," how, then, would they explain this phenomenon? That explanation, too, may have significant policy implications.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars small hypothesis to be added, October 8, 2007

By 

Kenya Kura (nagoya, Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: IQ and Global Inequality (Hardcover)

Lynn and Vanhanen's claim that national average IQ is a most reliable predictor of various national quality of life is, in my opinion, that most plausible hypothesis in social sciences presented ever. Chinese economic progress after their adoption of capitalism as the factory of the world in the 21st century may well be one of the impeccable evidence. It is truly amazing that no professional economists so far have advanced this simple idea even though I know the existence of the blizzard of PC movement in the U.S.

One thing that I personally would like those who understand IQ controversy fully to think about is that, although East Asians have 105 IQ points on average, most of modern math and sciences have been developed by Europeans, who have 100 IQ points on average. There seems to exist a small inconsistency here. My guess is that, as the former U. Penn professor, Vining reported on a paper (which I forgot for exact time and place unfortunately), European Caucasians have higher variance as for IQ points among other psychological traits. Therefore, super-smart people tend to be born among Europeans and hence modern civilization has been advanced in Europe. I think this is still articulately shown in the number of Nobel laureates and Fields medalists

One more puzzle is the Indian national IQ points estimated around 80. Other things aside, this is somewhat bewildering to me that Ramanujan and other famous mathematicians and statisticians are Indians when we look at the field. Also many Indians, including famous Adobe founder, are known to be very good at computer programming which consist mostly of dense logic.

Can someone suggest anything on this? BTW, although I am genetically Japanese living in Japan, I love scientific truth and hate nationalism. Thank you in advance.