IQ and Global Inequality is a 2006 book by psychologist Richard Lynn and political scientist Tatu Vanhanen.[1] IQ and Global Inequality is follow-up to their 2002 book IQ and the Wealth of Nations,[2] an expansion of the argument that international differences in current economic development are due in part to differences in average national intelligence as indicated by national IQ estimates, and a response to critics. The book was published by the Washington Summit Publishers.
Lynn and Vanhanen's research on national IQs has attracted academic attention from several fields with both praise and criticism. Various authors have cited the book to reach further conclusions from the book's statements or to criticize or find support for the book's scores, methodology, and conclusions.[3][4][5][6][7][8] Several other data sets of estimated average national cognitive ability exist as explained in nations and intelligence.
Contents |
Human intelligence |
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Abilities and Traits |
Models and Theories |
Fields of study |
Significant correlations with higher national IQ were found for a number of factors: higher GDP/capita, higher adult literacy rate, higher gross tertiary education enrollment ratio, higher life expectancy at birth, higher level of democratization 2002 (Tatu Vanhanen's Index of Democratization), higher Human Development Index, higher Gender-related Development Index, higher economic growth rate, lower Gini index of inequality in income or consumption, lower population below the $2 a day international poverty line, lower measures of undernourishment, lower maternal mortality ratio, lower infant mortality rate, higher Corruption Perceptions Index, higher Economic Freedom of the World ratings, higher Index of Economic Freedom ratings, and more narrow population pyramid (MU Index).
The book received a mixed reception ranging from praise to dismissal.
In a review J. Philippe Rushton, President of the Pioneer fund that has been a long time funder of research by Lynn,[9][10] writes that the book extends and answers criticisms against the earlier work in several ways. The number of nations for which there were IQ tests available increased from 81 to 113. The correlation between IQ and income per person was 0.68 which is virtually identical to the one reported in the earlier book. The book compared the IQ values for the 32 new nations for which IQ tests were available with the estimations for these nations in the earlier book which was based on averaging neighboring nations values. The correlation of 0.91 was very high. Rushton thus conclude that this method is remarkably accurate.[5]
Rushton states that the authors also compared the results of the IQ tests for those nations were several were available (71 nations). They found a very high correlation of 0.95 and thus concluded that the IQ testing have a very high reliability regarding measuring IQ. The authors furthermore compared the national IQs to national scores of school students in tests of mathematics and science. The correlations were between 0.79 and 0.89. This, Rushton writes, establishes that the national IQs have very high validity as measures of national differences in cognitive ability.[5]
The authors argue for a substantial role of genetics and race in explaining these differences. They were led to this conclusion from observing racial clusters regarding national IQs. Thus, the six East Asian nations all have IQs in the range between 105 and 108. The 29 European nations all have IQs in the range between 92 and 102. The 19 nations of sub-Saharan Africa all have IQs in the range between 59 and 73. Rushton thus argues that "They show that there is remarkable consistency in the IQs of nations when these are classified into racial clusters." The book also argues for feedback between genes and environment. For instance, a genetically caused high national IQ leads to high per capita incomes which enables high quality nutrition, education and health care for children which enhance their intelligence.[5]
Kanazawa when commenting on using the book as a data source makes statements similar to Rushton's.[11]
The methods of the study were criticized by Richard E. Nisbett for relying on small and haphazard samples and for ignoring data that did not support the conclusions.[7]
In an article published in European Journal of Personality, Heiner Rindermann compared the IQ scores from the book to a large number of international student assessment studies on subjects such as reading, mathematics, science, and problem solving, and found them to be highly intercorrelated. Statistical analyses indicated that the results could be explained by an underlying general cognitive ability. More than 30 commentaries on Rindermann's findings were published in the same issue of the journal.[8]
The study A systematic literature review of the average IQ of sub-Saharan Africans by Jelte M. Wicherts and colleagues stated that:
However, the study also did its own literature review on the average IQ of sub-Saharan Africans. It did not find as low a value as the book, below 70, but the estimated average value of 82 is still low compared to industrialized nations. Regarding four studies comparing and finding agreement between Lynn's estimated national IQs and the international student assessment tests, they disagree regarding sub-Saharan Africa but write "these four studies appear to validate national IQs in other parts of the world."[6]
Richard Lynn and Gerhard Meisenberg in turn replied that "critical evaluation of the studies presented by WDM shows that many of these are based on unrepresentative elite samples" and that a further literature review, including taking into account results in mathematics, science, and reading, gave "an IQ of 68 as the best reading of the IQ in sub-Saharan Africa".[12] Wicherts and colleagues in yet another reply stated: "In light of all the available IQ data of over 37,000 African testtakers, only the use of unsystematic methods to exclude the vast majority of data could result in a mean IQ close to 70. On the basis of sound methods, the average IQ remains close to 80. Although this mean IQ is clearly lower than 100, we view it as unsurprising in light of the potential of the Flynn Effect in Africa (Wicherts, Borsboom, & Dolan, 2010) and common psychometric problems associated with the use of western IQ tests among Africans."[13]
Consequently, some later studies using average national IQ data have checked their results against both data sets.[14][15]
Jones and Schneider commenting on the differences to the earlier book write "LV (2002) assembled results from 183 conventional IQ tests, both verbal and visual, given in 81 countries across the entire 20th century;they used hundreds of IQ tests from 113 countries across centuries in LV (2006). They aggregated these results using best practice methods to create estimates of “national average IQ” for these countries. LV show in those works as well as in Lynn (2006) that the IQ gaps between regions of the world have not appreciably changed during the 20th century."[16]
The quality of human conditions (QHC) index was computed from five variables.
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 received support in a 2007 study by Rindermann.[17]
All countries | Calculated IQ (113 countries) |
Estimated 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 |
The relationship of national IQ to twelve other measures of global inequality were examined.
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. |
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Correlation | Latitude | Temperature |
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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 |
Lynn and Vanhanen base their analysis on data gathered from a literature review. They selected IQ data from studies which covered 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, these 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 adjusted all test results to account 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 used from one country, their mean was calculated, whereas when three or more were available, the median was used.[1] Lynn and Vanhanen recommend the provision of iodine and other micronutrients as a way to increase cognitive functioning in the Third World. The book additionally states that part of the reason IQ's have shrunk since the prior book was published, is due to more immigration from the Third World. Sweden's IQ for example dropped from 101% to 99%, and Germany 101 to 99. Since national immigration has been active prior to the first book, ethnic IQ is most likely even higher.
Country/Territory | IQ (2002)[2] | IQ (2006)[1] | PPP-GNI per capita 2002[1] | QHC[1] |
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Hong Kong | 107 | 108 | 27,490 | 60.8 |
Singapore | 103 | 108 | 23,730 | 60.7 |
North Korea | 105* | 106* | 1,000 | 38 |
South Korea | 106 | 106 | 16,960 | 75.4 |
Japan | 105 | 105 | 27,380 | 71.4 |
Republic of China (Taiwan) | 104 | 105 | 23,400 | 79.4 |
People's Republic of China | 100 | 105 | 4,520 | 39.7 |
Italy | 102 | 102 | 26,170 | 78.9 |
Iceland | 98* | 101 | 29,240 | 80 |
Mongolia | 98* | 101* | 1,710 | 48.1 |
Switzerland | 101 | 101 | 31,840 | 82.2 |
Austria | 102 | 100 | 28,910 | 80.7 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | N/A | 100 | 15,800 | 61.4 |
Luxembourg | 101* | 100* | 53,230 | 76.4 |
Netherlands | 102 | 100 | 28,350 | 82.8 |
Norway | 98 | 100 | 36,690 | 89 |
United Kingdom | 100 | 100 | 26,580 | 76.7 |
Germany | 102 | 99 | 26,980 | 78 |
Belgium | 100 | 99 | 28,130 | 84.1 |
Canada | 97 | 99 | 28,930 | 77.8 |
Estonia | 97* | 99 | 11,630 | 64.5 |
Finland | 97 | 99 | 26,160 | 85.1 |
New Zealand | 100 | 99 | 20,550 | 76.2 |
Poland | 99 | 99 | 10,450 | 62.7 |
Sweden | 101 | 99 | 25,820 | 82.9 |
Andorra | N/A | 98* | 19,000 | 58.7 |
Spain | 99 | 98 | 21,910 | 75.8 |
Australia | 98 | 98 | 27,440 | 82.8 |
Czech Republic | 97 | 98 | 14,920 | 64.5 |
Denmark | 98 | 98 | 30,600 | 85.4 |
France | 98 | 98 | 27,040 | 78.1 |
Hungary | 99 | 98 | 13,070 | 64.1 |
Latvia | 97* | 98* | 9,190 | 65.5 |
United States | 98* | 98* | 36,120 | 86.6 |
Belarus | 96* | 97* | 5,500 | 57.2 |
Malta | 95* | 97 | 17,710 | 66.4 |
Russia | 96 | 97 | 8,080 | 64.5 |
Ukraine | 96* | 97* | 4,800 | 61.8 |
Moldova | 95* | 96* | 1,600 | 46.2 |
Slovakia | 96 | 96 | 12,590 | 63.2 |
Uruguay | 96 | 96 | 7,710 | 64 |
Israel | 94 | 95 | 19,000 | 75.3 |
Portugal | 95 | 95 | 17,820 | 67 |
Armenia | 93* | 94* | 3,230 | 50.2 |
Georgia | 93* | 94* | 2,270 | 51.2 |
Kazakhstan | 93* | 94* | 5,630 | 49 |
Romania | 94 | 94 | 6,490 | 53 |
Vietnam | 96* | 94* | 2,300 | 39.6 |
Argentina | 96 | 93 | 10,190 | 64.7 |
Bulgaria | 93 | 93 | 7,030 | 59.1 |
Greece | 94 | 92 | 18,770 | 76.1 |
Libya | 87 | 92 | 21,570 | 72.3 |
Malaysia | 92 | 92 | 8,500 | 78.5 |
Ireland | 93 | 92 | 29,570 | 52.1 |
Brunei | 92* | 91* | 19,210 | 50.8 |
Cambodia | 89* | 91* | 1,970 | 28.6 |
Croatia | 97 | 91 | 10,000 | 61.7 |
Cyprus | 92* | 91* | 18,650 | 67.6 |
Lithuania | 97* | 91 | 10,190 | 65.4 |
Republic of Macedonia | 93* | 91* | 6,420 | 54.4 |
Thailand | 91 | 91 | 6,890 | 50.3 |
Albania | 93* | 90* | 4,960 | 51.2 |
Bermuda | N/A | 90 | 36,000 | 75.8 |
Chile | 93* | 90 | 9,420 | 59.5 |
Indonesia | 91 | 90 | 3,600 | 40.1 |
Kyrgyzstan | 87* | 90* | 1,560 | 48.1 |
Suriname | 91 | 90 | 6,590 | 50.6 |
Turkey | 90 | 90 | 6,300 | 50.2 |
Mexico | 87 | 90 | 12,500 | 52.9 |
Cook Islands | N/A | 89 | 5,000 | 45.7 |
Costa Rica | 91* | 89* | 8,650 | 53.7 |
Laos | 89* | 89 | 1,660 | 24.9 |
Mauritius | 81* | 89 | 10,820 | 52.2 |
Ecuador | 80 | 88 | 3,340 | 47.4 |
Samoa | 87 | 88 | 5,570 | 49.7 |
Algeria | 84 | 87 | 5,530 | 39.9 |
Azerbaijan | 87* | 87* | 3,010 | 47.2 |
Bolivia | 85* | 87 | 2,390 | 49.7 |
Brazil | 87 | 87 | 7,450 | 51.1 |
East Timor | N/A | 87* | 3,940 | 46.7 |
Guyana | 84* | 87* | 3,070 | 40.2 |
Iraq | 87 | 87 | 1,027 | 30.7 |
Burma | 86* | 87* | 930 | 42.4 |
Tajikistan | 87* | 87* | 1,640 | 27.5 |
Turkmenistan | 87* | 87* | 4,780 | 41.7 |
Uzbekistan | 87* | 87* | 1,640 | 39.4 |
Kuwait | 83* | 86 | 17,780 | 49.9 |
Philippines | 86 | 86 | 4,450 | 51.6 |
Seychelles | 81* | 86* | 18,232 | 60.6 |
Tonga | 87 | 86 | 6,820 | 40.5 |
Tunisia | 87* | 86 | 6,440 | 40.6 |
Cuba | 85 | 85 | 5,259 | 46.2 |
Fiji | 84 | 85 | 5,330 | 51.9 |
Kiribati | 84* | 85* | 800 | 37.1 |
New Caledonia | N/A | 85 | 21,960 | 54.9 |
Peru | 90 | 85 | 4,880 | 49.2 |
Trinidad and Tobago | 80* | 85* | 9,000 | 52 |
Yemen | 83* | 85 | 800 | 24.5 |
Afghanistan | 83* | 84* | 700 | 13.2 |
Belize | 83* | 84* | 15,960 | 56.1 |
Colombia | 88 | 84 | 5,490 | 44.2 |
Egypt | 83 | 84 | 3,810 | 37.3 |
Federated States of Micronesia | 84* | 84* | 6,150 | 48.4 |
Iran | 84 | 84 | 6,690 | 40.2 |
Jordan | 87* | 84 | 4,180 | 43.4 |
Lebanon | 88 | 84 | 4,900 | 55.8 |
Marshall Islands | 84 | 84 | 1,600 | 44.2 |
Morocco | 85 | 84 | 2,000 | 39.9 |
Pakistan | 81* | 84 | 1,730 | 31.7 |
Panama | 84* | 84* | 1,960 | 26.2 |
Paraguay | 85* | 84 | 6,060 | 56.6 |
Puerto Rico | 84 | 84 | 4,590 | 45.2 |
Saudi Arabia | 83* | 84* | 15,800 | 63.6 |
Solomon Islands | 84* | 84* | 12,660 | 44.1 |
The Bahamas | 78* | 84* | 1,590 | 41.5 |
United Arab Emirates | 83* | 84* | 24,030 | 48.8 |
Vanuatu | 84* | 84* | 2,850 | 31.4 |
Venezuela | 88* | 84 | 5,220 | 47.4 |
Bahrain | 83* | 83* | 16,190 | 49.3 |
Oman | 83* | 83* | 13,000 | 40.6 |
Papua New Guinea | 84* | 83 | 2,180 | 38.4 |
Syria | 87* | 83 | 5,348 | 38.9 |
Bangladesh | 81* | 82* | 1,720 | 29.8 |
Dominican Republic | 84* | 82 | 6,270 | 46.8 |
Qatar | 81 | 82 | 19,650 | 56.3 |
Madagascar | 79* | 82 | 730 | 28.6 |
Honduras | 84* | 81 | 2,540 | 41.9 |
Maldives | 81* | 81* | 4,798 | 38.5 |
Nicaragua | 84* | 81* | 2,350 | 41.3 |
Northern Mariana Islands | N/A | 81 | 12,500 | 51.3 |
Barbados | 78 | 80 | 14,660 | 60.9 |
Bhutan | 78* | 80* | 1,969 | 24.1 |
El Salvador | 84* | 80* | 4,790 | 42.6 |
Guatemala | 79 | 79 | 4,040 | 34.6 |
India | 81 | 79 | 2,844 | 25.6 |
Sri Lanka | 81* | 79 | 3,510 | 47.7 |
Nepal | 78 | 78 | 1,370 | 26.9 |
Comoros | 79* | 77* | 1,640 | 24.6 |
Cape Verde | 78* | 76* | 4,920 | 40.5 |
Mauritania | 73* | 76* | 1,790 | 20.5 |
Sudan | 74 | 73 | 1,740 | 24.6 |
Uganda | 73 | 73 | 1,360 | 25.4 |
Chad | 73 | 72 | 1,010 | 20.4 |
Kenya | 72 | 72 | 1,010 | 27.3 |
South Africa | 72 | 72 | 9,810 | 38.3 |
Tanzania | 72 | 72 | 580 | 23.2 |
Ghana | 71 | 71 | 2,080 | 33.7 |
Grenada | 75* | 71* | 6,600 | 45.3 |
Jamaica | 72 | 71 | 3,680 | 46.5 |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 75* | 71 | 5,190 | 48.4 |
Zambia | 77 | 71 | 800 | 21.8 |
Antigua and Barbuda | 75* | 70* | 10,390 | 53.2 |
Benin | 69* | 70* | 1,060 | 20.5 |
Botswana | 72* | 70* | 7,740 | 29.4 |
Namibia | 72* | 70* | 6,880 | 31.1 |
Rwanda | 70* | 70* | 1,260 | 18.5 |
Togo | 69* | 70* | 1,450 | 26 |
Burundi | 70* | 69* | 630 | 15.2 |
Côte d'Ivoire | 71* | 69* | 1,450 | 18.1 |
Malawi | 71* | 69* | 570 | 24.3 |
Mali | 68* | 69* | 840 | 13.4 |
Niger | 67* | 69* | 800 | 13.5 |
Nigeria | 67 | 69 | 800 | 27.3 |
Angola | 69* | 68* | 1,840 | 13.7 |
Burkina Faso | 66* | 68* | 1,090 | 10.7 |
Djibouti | 68* | 68* | 2,040 | 22 |
Eritrea | 68* | 68* | 1,040 | 21.4 |
Somalia | 68* | 68* | 500 | 15.2 |
Swaziland | 72* | 68* | 4,730 | 22.2 |
Dominica | 75* | 67 | 4,960 | 48.8 |
Guinea | 63 | 67 | 2,060 | 22.5 |
Guinea-Bissau | 63* | 67* | 680 | 20.3 |
Haiti | 72* | 67* | 1,610 | 20.4 |
Lesotho | 72* | 67* | 2,970 | 24.3 |
Liberia | 64* | 67* | 1,000 | 21.2 |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | 75* | 67* | 10,750 | 45.5 |
São Tomé and Príncipe | 59* | 67* | 1,317 | 37.9 |
Senegal | 64* | 66* | 1,660 | 20.7 |
The Gambia | 64* | 66* | 1,540 | 21.3 |
Zimbabwe | 66 | 66 | 2,180 | 25.2 |
Republic of the Congo | 73 | 65 | 630 | 17.9 |
Cameroon | 70* | 64 | 1,910 | 23.1 |
Central African Republic | 68* | 64 | 1,170 | 19.1 |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | 65 | 64 | 700 | 26.9 |
Ethiopia | 71 | 71 | 780 | 29.7 |
Gabon | 66* | 64* | 5,530 | 32.2 |
Mozambique | 72* | 64 | 990 | 18 |
Sierra Leone | 64 | 64 | 500 | 13.8 |
Saint Lucia | 75* | 62 | 4,950 | 51.1 |
Equatorial Guinea | 59 | 59 | 9,100 | 30.4 |
In summer 2010 Lynn updated the IQ scores presented in the book, calculating national IQ scores for 25 countries which had previously been estimated only from neighboring nations, and revising national IQ scores for 16 other countries.[18]
Theories of Race and Intelligence:
Publications of Race and Intelligence:
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