IQ and Global Inequality

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IQ and Global Inequality

IQ and Global Inequality is a controversial 2006 book by Dr. Richard Lynn, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, and Dr. Tatu Vanhanen, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland. IQ and Global Inequality is follow-up to their 2002 book IQ and the Wealth of Nations, an expansion of the argument that international differences in current economic development are due in part to differences in average national intelligence as measured by average national IQ, and a response to critics. Unlike IQ and the Wealth of Nations, the book was not published by an academic publisher but by Washington Summit Publishers.

Lynn and Vanhanen's research on IQ and economic development has attracted academic attention from several fields, some of it very enthusiastic, some dismissive.

Summary

• Chapter 1 summarizes theories of economic growth.
• Chapter 2 defines and describes intelligence.
• Chapter 3 argues that the scientific literature indicates that intelligence is a determinant of incomes and related phenomena among individuals within a number of countries.
• Chapter 4 describes the collection and determination of national IQ, presenting calculated IQs for 113 countries and estimated IQs for an additional 79 countries. This represents all countries with population greater than 40,000.
• Chapter 5 introduces a new statistic, the quality of human condition index (QHC) and 12 alternative variables that measure human conditions.
• Chapter 7 focuses on the relationship between national IQ and QHC, which Lynn and Vanhanen report to be strongly correlated.
• Chapter 8 examines the relationship between national IQ and 12 alternative variables, which Lynn and Vanhanen report are also correlated with national IQ.
• Chapter 9 discusses the genetic and environmental contributions to differences in national intelligence, and argues that racial composition of the population is a major factor.
• Chapter 10 considers the causal relationship between national IQ and important variables related to global inequality.
• Chapter 11 discusses and responds to criticisms made to Lynn and Vanhanen's theory by reviewers. *Chapter 12 summarizes the book and discusses policy recommendations.

National IQ and economic development

Quality of human conditions index

File:QHC Lynn Vanhanen 2006 IQ and Global Inequality.png

Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen's QHC index.

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The quality of human conditions (QHC) index was computed from five variables.

1. purchasing power parity Gross National Income (PPP-GNI) per capita 2002
2. adult literacy rate 2002
3. gross tertiary enrollment ratio
4. life expectancy at birth 2002
5. the level of democratization 2002 (Tatu Vanhanen's Index of Democratization)

Values of the index range from 10.7 (Burkina Faso) to 89 (Norway). Lynn and Vanhanen write that they would have preferred to include a sixth measure, an indicator of income inequality, but that statistical data for that variable was not available for all countries. They write that the QHC index differs significantly from other widely used indexes (such as the Human Development Index) in that QHC also measures democratization. Some of their claims have been received support in a 2007 study by Rindermann.

All countries	Estimate IQ (79 countries)	Total (192 countries)
QHC	0.805	0.725	0.791
PPP GNI per capita 2002	0.693	0.342	0.616
Adult literacy rate 2002	0.642	0.655	0.655
Tertiary enrollment ratio	0.746	0.699	0.745
Life expectancy at birth 2002	0.765	0.690	0.750
Index of Democratization 2002	0.569	0.322	0.530
Excluding smallest countries	Calculated IQ (98 countries)	Estimate IQ (62 countries)	Total (160 countries)
QHC	0.846	0.800	0.839
PPP GNI per capita 2002	0.739	0.266	0.649
Adult literacy rate 2002	0.710	0.746	0.733
Tertiary enrollment ratio	0.778	0.734	0.780
Life expectancy at birth 2002	0.833	0.753	0.817
Index of Democratization 2002	0.598	0.408	0.584

Other measures of global inequality

The relationship of national IQ to twelve other measures of global inequality were examined. Human Development Index (HDI) Gender-related Development Index (GDI) Economic growth rate (EGR) Gini index of inequality in income or consumption (Gini) Population below $2 a day international poverty line (Poverty) Measures of undernourishment (PUN) Maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and infant mortality rate (IMR) Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) Economic freedom ratings (EFR) the Index of Economic Freedom (IEF) Population pyramids (MU-index) Human happiness and life-satisfaction. All twelve measures of global inequality are significantly correlated with the QHC index. According to the book, eleven of the twelve measures are significantly correlated with national IQ. The measures of human happiness and life satisfaction are not significantly correlated with national IQ.

Correlations IQ QHC HDI 0.776 0.940 GDI 0.849 0.951 EGR 3 0.747 0.840 EGR 4 0.709 0.871 Gini -0.538 -0.464 Poverty -0.653 -0.799 PUN 1 -0.500 -0.648 MMR -0.730 -0.759 IMR -0.771 -0.861 CPI 0.591 0.762 EFR 0.606 0.674 IEF 0.418 0.620 MU-index 0.806 0.902 Happiness 0.029 0.315 Life satisfaction 0.033 0.396

Latitude and temperature

Correlation	Latitude	Temperature
Degrees latitude	1	-0.885
Annual mean temperature	-0.885	1
National IQ	0.677	-0.632
QHC	0.659	-0.562
PPP GNI per capita 2002	0.528	-0.407
Adult literacy rate 2002	0.482	-0.467
Tertiary enrollment ratio	0.718	-0.649
Life expectancy at birth 2002	0.505	-0.379
Index of Democratization 2002	0.512	-0.460

National IQ and QHC values

File:National IQ Lynn Vanhanen 2006 IQ and Global Inequality.png

Calculated and estimated national average IQ according to book.

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Lynn and Vanhanen base their analysis on a series of data points that they have gathered and estimated. They obtained IQ data from 113 nations. For another 79 nations, they estimated the mean IQs on the basis of the arithmetic means of the measured IQs of neighboring countries. They justify this method of estimation by pointing out that the correlation between the estimated national IQs they reported in IQ and the Wealth of Nations and the measured national IQs since obtained is very high (0.913). In the chart below, the estimates have been marked with an asterisk (*). The chart also includes the measured and estimated IQs from IQ and the Wealth of Nations.

Lynn and Vanhanen calculated the national IQs in relation to a British mean of 100, with a standard deviation of 15. They corrected all test results for the Flynn effect: adjustments were 2 points per decade for Raven's Progressive Matrices and 3 points per decade for all other types of tests. When two IQ studies were available from one country, their mean was calculated, whereas when three or more were available, the median was calculated.

Country/Region	IQ (2002)	IQ (2006)	PPP-GNI per capita 2002	QHC
Template:Country data Hong Kong	107	108	27,490	60.8
Template:Country data Singapore	103	108	23,730	60.7
Template:Country data North Korea	105*	106*	1,000	38
Template:Country data South Korea	106	106	16,960	75.4
Template:Country data Japan	105	105	27,380	71.4
Template:Country data China	100	105	4,520	39.7
Template:Country data Taiwan	104	105	23,400	79.4
Template:Country data Italy	102	102	26,170	78.9
Template:Country data Iceland	98*	101	29,240	80
Template:Country data Mongolia	98*	101*	1,710	48.1
Template:Country data Switzerland	101	101	31,840	82.2
Template:Country flag2	102	100	28,910	80.7
Template:Country data Luxembourg	101*	100*	53,230	76.4
Template:Country data Netherlands	102	100	28,350	82.8
Template:Country data Norway	98	100	36,690	89
Template:Country flag2	100	100	26,580	76.7
Template:Country data Germany	102	99	26,980	78
Template:Country data Belgium	100	99	28,130	84.1
Template:Country data Canada	97	99	28,930	77.8
Template:Country data Estonia	97*	99	11,630	64.5
Template:Country data Finland	97	99	26,160	85.1
Template:Country data New Zealand	100	99	20,550	76.2
Template:Country data Poland	99	99	10,450	62.7
Template:Country data Sweden	101	99	25,820	82.9
Template:Country data Andorra	N/A	98*	19,000	58.7
Template:Country data Australia	98	98	27,440	82.8
Template:Country data Czech Republic	97	98	14,920	64.5
Template:Country data Denmark	98	98	30,600	85.4
Template:Country data France	98	98	27,040	78.1
Template:Country data Hungary	99	98	13,070	64.1
Template:Country data Latvia	97*	98*	9,190	65.5
Template:Country data Spain	97	98	21,910	75.8
Template:Country data United States	98	98	36,120	86.6
Template:Country data Belarus	96*	97*	5,500	57.2
Template:Country data Malta	95*	97	17,710	66.4
Template:Country data Russia	96	97	8,080	64.5
Template:Country data Ukraine	96*	97*	4,800	61.8
Template:Country data Moldova	95*	96*	1,600	46.2
Template:Country data Slovakia	96	96	12,590	63.2
Template:Country data Uruguay	96	96	7,710	64
Template:Country data Israel	94	95	19,000	75.3
Template:Country data Portugal	95	95	17,820	67
Template:Country data Armenia	93*	94*	3,230	50.2
Template:Country data Georgia	93*	94*	2,270	51.2
Template:Country data Kazakhstan	93*	94*	5,630	49
Template:Country data Romania	94	94	6,490	53
Template:Country data Vietnam	96*	94	2,300	39.5
Template:Country data Argentina	96	93	10,190	64.7
Template:Country data Bulgaria	93	93	7,030	59.1
Template:Country data Greece	92	92	18,770	76.1
Template:Country data Malaysia	92	92	29,570	78.5
Template:Country data Ireland	93	92	8,500	52.1
Template:Country data Brunei	92*	91*	19,210	50.8
Template:Country data Cambodia	89*	91*	1,970	28.6
Template:Country data Cyprus	92*	91*	18,650	67.6
Template:Country data Lithuania	97*	91	10,190	65.4
Template:Country data Republic of Macedonia	93*	91*	6,420	54.4
Template:Country data Thailand	91	91	6,890	50.3
Template:Country data Albania	90*	90*	4,960	51.2
Template:Country data Bermuda	N/A	90	36,000	75.8
Template:Country data Bosnia and Herzegovina	N/A	90*	5,800	51.4
Template:Country data Chile	93*	90	9,420	59.5
Template:Country data Croatia	90	90	10,000	61.7
Template:Country data Kyrgyzstan	87*	90*	1,560	48.1
Template:Country data Turkey	90	90	6,300	50.2
Template:Country data Mexico	87	90	12,500	52.9
Template:Country data Cook Islands	N/A	89	5,000	45.7
Template:Country data Costa Rica	91*	89*	8,650	53.7
Template:Country data Laos	89*	89	1,660	24.9
Template:Country data Mauritius	81*	89	10,820	52.2
Template:Country data Suriname	89	89	6,590	50.6
Template:Country data Ecuador	80	88	3,340	47.4
Template:Country data Samoa	87	88	5,570	49.7
Template:Country data Azerbaijan	87*	87*	3,010	47.2
Template:Country data Bolivia	85*	87	2,390	49.7
Template:Country data Brazil	87	87	7,450	51.1
Template:Country data East Timor	N/A	87*	3,940	46.7
Template:Country data Guyana	84*	87*	3,070	40.2
Template:Country data Indonesia	89	87	1,600	28.1
Template:Country data Iraq	87	87	1,027	30.7
Template:Country data Myanmar	86*	87*	930	42.4
Template:Country data Tajikistan	87*	87*	1,640	27.5
Template:Country data Turkmenistan	87*	87*	4,780	41.7
Template:Country data Uzbekistan	87*	87*	1,640	39.4
Template:Country data Kuwait	83*	86	17,780	49.9
Template:Country data Philippines	86	86	4,450	51.6
Template:Country data Seychelles	81*	86*	18,232	60.6
Template:Country data Tonga	87	86	6,820	40.5
Template:Country data Cuba	85	85	5,259	46.2
Template:Country data Fiji	84	85	5,330	51.9
Template:Country data Kiribati	84*	85*	800	37.1
Template:Country data New Caledonia	N/A	85	21,960	54.9
Template:Country data Peru	90	85	4,880	49.2
Template:Country data Trinidad and Tobago	80*	85*	9,000	52
Template:Country data Yemen	83*	85	800	24.5
Template:Country data Afghanistan	83*	84*	700	13.2
Template:Country data Belize	83*	84*	15,960	56.1
Template:Country data Colombia	88	84	5,490	44.2
Template:Country data Federated States of Micronesia	84*	84*	6,150	48.4
Template:Country data Iran	84	84	6,690	40.2
Template:Country data Jordan	87*	84	4,180	43.4
Template:Country data Marshall Islands	84	84	1,600	44.2
Template:Country data Morocco	85	84	2,000	39.9
Template:Country data Pakistan	81*	84	3,730	31.7
Template:Country data Panama	84*	84*	1,960	26.2
Template:Country data Paraguay	85*	84	6,060	56.6
Template:Country data Puerto Rico	84	84	4,590	45.2
Template:Country data Saudi Arabia	83*	84*	15,800	63.6
Template:Country data Solomon Islands	84*	84*	12,660	44.1
Template:Country data The Bahamas	78*	84*	1,590	41.5
Template:Country data United Arab Emirates	83*	84*	24,030	48.8
Template:Country data Vanuatu	84*	84*	2,850	31.4
Template:Country data Venezuela	88*	84	5,220	47.4
Template:Country data Algeria	84*	83*	5,530	39.9
Template:Country data Bahrain	83*	83*	16,190	49.3
Template:Country data Libya	84*	83*	7,570	49.3
Template:Country data Oman	83*	83*	13,000	40.6
Template:Country data Papua New Guinea	84*	83	2,180	38.4
Template:Country data Syria	87*	83	5,348	38.9
Template:Country data Tunisia	84*	83*	6,440	40.6
Template:Country data Bangladesh	81*	82*	1,720	29.8
Template:Country data Dominican Republic	84*	82	6,270	46.8
Template:Country data India	81	82	2,650	36.3
Template:Country data Lebanon	86	82	4,600	55.8
Template:Country data Madagascar	79*	82	730	28.6
Template:Country data Egypt	83	81	3,810	37.3
Template:Country data Honduras	84*	81	2,540	41.9
Template:Country data Maldives	81*	81*	4,798	38.5
Template:Country data Nicaragua	84*	81*	2,350	41.3
Template:Country data Northern Mariana Islands	N/A	81	12,500	51.3
Template:Country data Barbados	78	80	14,660	60.9
Template:Country data Bhutan	78*	80*	1,969	24.1
Template:Country data El Salvador	84*	80*	4,790	42.6
Template:Country data Guatemala	79	79	4,040	34.6
Template:Country data Sri Lanka	81*	79	3,510	47.7
Template:Country data Nepal	78	78	1,370	26.9
Template:Country data Qatar	78	78	19,844	45.6
Template:Country data Comoros	79*	77*	1,640	24.6
Template:Country data Cape Verde	78*	76*	4,920	40.5
Template:Country data Mauritania	73*	76*	1,790	20.5
Template:Country data Uganda	73	73	1,360	25.4
Template:Country data Kenya	72	72	1,010	27.3
Template:Country data South Africa	72	72	9,810	38.3
Template:Country data Tanzania	72	72	580	23.2
Template:Country data Ghana	71	71	2,080	33.7
Template:Country data Grenada	75*	71*	6,600	45.3
Template:Country data Jamaica	72	71	3,680	46.5
Template:Country data Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	75*	71	5,190	48.4
Template:Country data Sudan	72	71	1,740	24.6
Template:Country data Zambia	77	71	800	21.8
Template:Country data Antigua and Barbuda	75*	70*	10,390	53.2
Template:Country data Benin	69*	70*	1,060	20.5
Template:Country data Botswana	72*	70*	7,740	29.4
Template:Country data Namibia	72*	70*	6,880	31.1
Template:Country data Rwanda	70*	70*	1,260	18.5
Template:Country data Togo	69*	70*	1,450	26
Template:Country data Burundi	70*	69*	630	15.2
Template:Country data Côte d'Ivoire	71*	69*	1,450	18.1
Template:Country data Malawi	71*	69*	570	24.3
Template:Country data Mali	68*	69*	840	13.4
Template:Country data Niger	67*	69*	800	13.5
Template:Country data Nigeria	67	69	800	27.3
Template:Country data Angola	69*	68*	1,840	13.7
Template:Country data Burkina Faso	66*	68*	1,090	10.7
Template:Country data Chad	72*	68*	1,010	20.4
Template:Country data Djibouti	68*	68*	2,040	22
Template:Country data Eritrea	68*	68*	1,040	21.4
Template:Country data Somalia	68*	68*	500	15.2
Template:Country data Swaziland	72*	68*	4,730	22.2
Template:Country data Dominica	75*	67	4,960	48.8
Template:Country data Guinea	63	67	2,060	22.5
Template:Country data Guinea-Bissau	63*	67*	680	20.3
Template:Country data Haiti	72*	67*	1,610	20.4
Template:Country data Lesotho	72*	67*	2,970	24.3
Template:Country data Liberia	64*	67*	1,000	21.2
Template:Country data Saint Kitts and Nevis	75*	67*	10,750	45.5
Template:Country data São Tomé and Príncipe	59*	67*	1,317	37.9
Template:Country data Senegal	64*	66*	1,660	20.7
Template:Country data The Gambia	64*	66*	1,540	21.3
Template:Country data Zimbabwe	66	66	2,180	25.2
Template:Country data Republic of the Congo	73	65	630	17.9
Template:Country data Cameroon	70*	64	1,910	23.1
Template:Country data Central African Republic	68*	64	1,170	19.1
Template:Country data Democratic Republic of the Congo	65	64	700	26.9
Template:Country data Ethiopia	63	64	780	16.7
Template:Country data Gabon	66*	64*	5,530	32.2
Template:Country data Mozambique	72*	64	990	18
Template:Country data Sierra Leone	64	64	500	13.8
Template:Country data Saint Lucia	75*	62	4,950	51.1
Template:Country data Equatorial Guinea	59	59	9,100	30.4
"*" Denotes estimated National IQ PPP-GNI = purchasing power parity gross national income. QHC = is a composite index called quality of human conditions.

See also

Book's Publisher

• Washington Summit Publishers

Theories of Race and Intelligence:

• Cattell Culture Fair III
• Evolution of human intelligence
• Flynn effect
• Fluid and crystallized intelligence
• General intelligence factor
• Gini coefficient
• Hominid intelligence
• Intelligence and public policy
• Race and intelligence

Publications of Race and Intelligence:

• IQ and the Wealth of Nations
• IQ and Global Inequality
• The Mismeasure of Man
• Race Differences in Intelligence

Theories of other Intelligence links:

• Brain to body mass ratio
• Height and intelligence
• Neuroscience and intelligence
• Sex and intelligence

External links

• Lynns posting of a favorable review that characterizes the 006 work as a reply to criticisms of their earlier results
• A site critical of Lynn;s claims
• National IQ means, calibrated on the basis of PISA scores and transformed from educational attainment

References

Template:Population country lists Template:Finance country lists Template:GDP country lists

cs:IQ and Global Inequality