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IQ and national productivity

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  • Garett Jones

Abstract

A recent line of research in economics and psychology hypothesizes that differences in national average intelligence, proxied by IQ tests, are important drivers of national economic outcomes. Cross-country regressions, while showing a robust IQ-growth relationship, cannot fully test this hypothesis. Thus, recent work explores the micro-foundations of the IQ-productivity relationship. The well-identified psychological relationship between IQ and patience implies higher savings rates and higher folk theorem-driven institutional quality in high average IQ countries. Experiments indicate that intelligence predicts greater pro-social behavior in public goods and prisoner’s dilemma games, supporting the hypothesis that high national average IQ causes higher institutional quality. High average IQ countries also have higher savings intensity by a variety of measures. Other possible IQ-productivity channels are discussed, as are possible environmental causes of differences in national average IQ.

Suggested Citation

  • Garett Jones, 2011. "IQ and national productivity," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics,, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:dofeco:v:5:year:2011:doi:3866
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Díaz Serrano, Lluís & Sackey, Frank G., 2016. "Do political regime transitions in Africa Matter for Citizens’ Health Status," Working Papers 2072/267086, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Department of Economics.
    2. Potrafke, Niklas, 2012. "Intelligence and corruption," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 114(1), pages 109-112.
    3. Madsen, Jakob B., 2016. "Barriers to Prosperity: Parasitic and Infectious Diseases, IQ, and Economic Development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 172-187.
    4. Salahodjaev, Raufhon & Yuldashev, Oybek, 2016. "Intelligence and greenhouse gas emissions: Introducing Intelligence Kuznets curve," MPRA Paper 68997, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Gensowski, Miriam, 2018. "Personality, IQ, and lifetime earnings," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 170-183.
    6. Daniele, Vittorio, 2013. "Does the intelligence of populations determine the wealth of nations?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 27-37.
    7. Kodila-Tedika, Oasis & Mutascu, Mihai, 2014. "Tax Revenues and Intelligence: A Cross-Sectional Evidence," MPRA Paper 57581, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Jones, Garett, 2012. "Cognitive skill and technology diffusion: An empirical test," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 444-460.
    9. Isaac Kalonda-Kanyama & Oasis Kodila-Tedika, 2012. "Quality of Institutions: Does Intelligence Matter?," Working Papers 308, Economic Research Southern Africa.
    10. Antonio Rodríguez Andrés & Raufhon Salahodjaev, 2016. "Do cognitive able societies nurture entrepreneurs?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 36(3), pages 1453-1462.
    11. Lv, Zhike, 2017. "Intelligence and corruption: An empirical investigation in a non-linear framework," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 83-91.
    12. Athanasios Lapatinas & Anastasia Litina, 2019. "Intelligence and economic sophistication," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 57(5), pages 1731-1750, November.
    13. Pérez-Centeno, Víctor, 2017. ""It takes three to tango": Brain, cognition and entrepreneurial enhancement," Working Papers 02/17, Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn.
    14. Azam, Sardor, 2017. "A cross-country empirical test of cognitive abilities and innovation nexus," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 128-136.
    15. Salahodjaev, Raufhon & Azam, Sardor, 2015. "IQ and the Weight of Nations," MPRA Paper 66144, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Oasis Kodila-Tedika, 2014. "Governance and Intelligence: Empirical Analysis from African Data," Journal of African Development, African Finance and Economic Association (AFEA), vol. 16(1), pages 83-97.
    17. Weil, David N., 2014. "Health and Economic Growth," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 3, pages 623-682, Elsevier.
    18. Salahodjaev, Raufhon, 2016. "Intelligence and deforestation: International data," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 20-27.
    19. Diaz-Serrano, Luis & Sackey, Frank Gyimah, 2016. "Do Leaders' Characteristics and Regime Transitions in Africa Matter for Citizens' Health Status?," IZA Discussion Papers 10338, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cognitive ability; economic growth; education; human capital; time preference; institutions; cooperation; prisoner’s dilemma; IQ; intelligence; capital; strategic complementarities; intelligence quotient; IQ tests; GDP; average worker productivity; cognitive skill;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth

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