Ok....this is getting off-the-beaten path re: practical applications of intelligence theory and tests....but.....it can make for good cocktail party trivia.
In 2002 Lynn and Vanhanen published the book IQ and the Wealth of Nations which established an empirical link between the mean intelligence and economic wealth (GDP) of countries. Various scholars have commented/criticizied this controversial work and many have reanalyzed the primary data.
A Intelligence "in press" article by Dickerson presents a new methodological twist on the data. Although the mathematics and statistics may turn off most readers, the conclusions are relatively easy to digest
Abstract
Plots of mean IQ and per capita real Gross Domestic Product for groups of 81 and 185 nations, as collected by Lynn and Vanhanen, are best fitted by an exponential function of the form: GDP=a *10b*(IQ), where a and b are empirical constants. Exponential fitting yields markedly higher correlation coefficients than either linear or quadratic. The implication of exponential fitting is that a given increment in IQ, anywhere along the IQ scale, results in a given percentage in GDP, rather than a given dollar increase as linear fitting would predict. As a rough rule of thumb, an increase of 10 points in mean IQ results in a doubling of the per capita GDP.
To read the article........
Technorati tags: GDP. psychology. intelligence. wealth of nations.
Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests
