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Regional Differences in Intelligence in 22 Countries and their Economic, Social and Demographic Correlates: A Review
Abstract
Differences in intelligence have previously been found to be related to a wide range of inter-individual and international social outcomes. There is evidence indicating that intelligence differences are also related to different regional outcomes within nations. A quantitative and narrative review is provided for twenty-two countries (number of regions in parentheses): Argentina (24 to 437), Brazil (27 to 31), British Isles (12 to 392), to 79), Spain (15 to 48), Switzerland (47), Turkey (12), the USA (30 to 3100), and Vietnam (61). Between regions, intelligence is significantly associated with a wide range of economic, social, and demographic phenomena, including income (r unweighted = .56), educational attainment (r unweighted = .59), health (r unweighted = .49), general socioeconomic status (r unweighted = .55), and negatively with fertility (r unweighted = −.51) and crime (r unweighted = −.20). Proposed causal models for these differences are noted. It is concluded that regional differences in intelligence within nations warrant further focus; methodological concerns that need to be addressed in future research are detailed.
Supplementary resource (1)
... Although aggregate cognitive scores are potent predictors of important social, economic, and political outcomes [11] , consensus about why these relationships exist and for why cognitive ability varies across geography has been lacking. Notably, a recently conducted survey of researchers in this area revealed belief in several potential causes for aggregate cognitive variation including differ-ences in education (both quantity and quality), genetics, health, and wealth [12] . ...
... 43) which need to be accounted for. Indeed, in their review, Lynn et al. [11] reported that 12 of 15 countries exhibited a positive association between absolute latitude and cognitive ability. These intra-country cognitive clines in latitude mirror an international one [14] . ...
... For example, U.S. state-level results may not match U.S. county-level results [41] . For this reason, in their review of regional dif-ferences in intelligence, Lynn et al. [11] urged authors to examine data at multiple levels in order to ensure robustness. ...
Using a sample of ~3,100 U.S. counties, we tested geoclimatic explanations for why cognitive ability varies across geography. These models posit that geoclimatic factors will strongly predict cognitive ability across geography, even when a variety of common controls appear in the regression equations. Our results generally do not support UV radiation (UVR) based or other geoclimatic models. Specifically, although UVR alone predicted cognitive ability at the U.S. county-level (β = -.33), its validity was markedly reduced in the presence of climatic and demographic covariates (β = -.16), and was reduced even further with a spatial lag (β = -.10). For climate models, average temperature remained a significant predictor in the regression equation containing a spatial lag (β = .35). However, the effect was in the wrong direction relative to typical cold weather hypotheses. Moreover, when we ran the analyses separately by race/ethnicity, no consistent pattern appeared in the models containing the spatial lag. Analyses of gap sizes across counties were also generally inconsistent with predictions from the UVR model. Instead, results seemed to provide support for compositional models.
... In diesem Kommentar zum Artikel "Intelligenzdiagnostik bei überwiegend Nicht-EU-Migrantinnen und -Migranten" (Klauk, 2019) Greenfield, 1997;Nisbett et al., 2012;Sternberg, 2018), noch bezüglich Migration und kognitiven Fähigkeiten (Lynn, Fuerst & Kirkegaard, 2018;Van de Vijver, 1997;Whitaker, 2018). Eine di erenzierte Darstellung der kontroversen Au assungen in diesem Bereich hätten es Leserinnen und Lesern, die mit dieser Diskussion nicht vertraut sind, ermöglicht, die Ergebnisse der vorgestellten Studie besser einschätzen zu können. ...
... Erklärungsansätze für Unterschiede in der Leistungsfähigkeit von Personen aus unterschiedlichen Ländern, die nicht nur auf genetische Erklärungsmodelle zurückgreifen, existieren in der kulturübergreifenden Diagnostik schon seit Langem (Lynn et al., 2018;Van de Vijver, 1997) und sie hätten eine kritische Diskussion der Ergebnisse sehr aufgewertet. Die unterschiedlichen Ergebnisse von Personen auf Basis der Annahme der Kulturunabhängigkeit des Messinstruments direkt, zumindest teilweise, biologischen Unterschieden zuzuschreiben, entspricht in keiner Weise dem Stand der Forschung (u. ...
... Bei der Formulierung der Hypothesen wurde auf zwei Arbeiten zurückgegri en (Lynn & Vanhanen, 2002;Rindermann & Thompson, 2016), ohne sie im Kontext des kontroversen wissenscha lichen Diskurses darzustellen (u. a. Barber, 2005;Greenfield, 1997;Lynn et al., 2018;Neisser et al. 1996;Nisbett et al., 2012;Sternberg, 2018 ...
Die in Deutschland grundgesetzlich geschützte Freiheit von Forschung und Lehre ist auch mit einer entsprechenden Verantwortung für die Forschenden verbunden. In diesem Kommentar zum Artikel „Intelligenzdiagnostik bei überwiegend Nicht-EU-Migrantinnen und -Migranten“ (Klauk, 2019) werden drei Ebenen verantwortungsvoller psychologischer Forschung näher betrachtet: die theoretische, die methodische und die ethische. Die Diskussion der Defizite des Artikels von Klauk (2019) auf diesen Ebenen soll sowohl dazu beitragen, die Ergebnisse des Artikels besser einordnen zu können, als auch die Aufmerksamkeit darauf lenken, diese Punkte ausreichend in der wissenschaftlichen Begutachtung zu berücksichtigen.
... In line with Lynn et al. (2018), we sought to include at least one measure for each of the following important socioeconomic outcomes: 1) economic performance, 2) education, 3) health, 4) crime, 5) fertility, and 6) general socioeconomic performance (S factor). We were able to find (usually multiple) measures of all these variables except crime. ...
... 2017) practice of using factor analysis to extract a single factor from our diverse set of variables. 2 Second, based on Pesta et al. (2010) we implemented a two-stage / higher-order grouping of variables by type into the categories proposed by Lynn et al. (2018;economics, education, health, crime, fertility) except that we did not include crime. We then aggregated the categories into a single, global index of S. The advantage of this procedure is that it forces equal importance to each of the different subscales in the analysis (see also Kirkegaard, 2016c). ...
... Such an analysis would be similar to previous studies of the United States' counties (2 nd level; Kirkegaard, 2016b), the districts of Peru (3 rd level; León & Avilés, 2016), and the local authorities of the United Kingdom (2 nd level; Carl, 2016). See Lynn et al. (2018) for further discussion of the benefits of examining data at multiple levels. ...
We compiled cognitive, ethnic, and socioeconomic data for the 63 provinces of Vietnam. The cognitive data came from math and reading achievement tests administered to 70,000 fifth-graders in 2001 (World Bank, 2004). Ethnic and socioeconomic data were coded from various official sources (e.g., The General Statistics Office of Vietnam). Analysis of the socioeconomic data revealed a general factor (S) that was robust to variations in extraction method and controls. The average cognitive ability of the provinces correlated .47 with the S factor. The strongest predictor of S, however, was ethnicity. Specifically, the percent of Vietnamese (Kinh) within each province correlated .74 with S. Moreover, this effect was not mediated by cognitive ability. The lack of mediation is inconsistent with results from earlier studies that examined relations between ethnicity, cognitive ability, and socioeconomic outcomes (see, e.g., Fuerst & Kirkegaard, 2016). Also inconsistent with prior studies, although latitude correlated positively with cognitive ability, it did so inversely with the S factor. We discuss several potential hypotheses for why these discrepant effects occurred.
... Such tests operationalise different success-relevant characteristics in the context of different phases of start-ups (Hell and Gatzka, 2018). For personality traits, differences across cultures are regularly reported (Schmitt et al, 2007), but these are very small compared to differences in expertise and ability tests (Lynn, Fuerst and Kirkegaard, 2018). ...
An increasing number of start-up incubators offer programmes designed specifically for refugees. They provide entrepreneurship training and access to a closely-knit community for start-up development. Beyond that, they also support refugees in overcoming typical challenges, including a lack of language skills and required qualifications, an uncertain residence status, discrimination and psychological distress on various levels. While these incubators have already contributed to refugees’ social and economic integration, the number of successful participants is still relatively low. The question remains about what can be done to multiply the potential so that more significant numbers of refugees can benefit. To support incubators in achieving more significant numbers, this work presents a framework of methods and tools based on health and organisational psychology literature. More specifically, this work focuses on methods and tools to be applied during two critical phases of the incubation cycle, namely the selection process and the actual programme. First, suitable candidates may be overlooked and/or less suitable candidates admit-ted during selection. This work proposes approaches to improve the accuracy of assessment methods so that more significant numbers of candidates with good chances of success are admit-ted. In addition, these methods can help identify those candidates who may appear unsuitable at first sight but could likely get ready with a preparatory course before joining the programme. Second, participants may have difficulty keeping up during the programme for various reasons (often related to the mentioned challenges) and therefore drop out early. This work proposes science-based approaches which help to adapt and improve existing programme elements and/or implement new elements to increase the chances of successful programme completion. Overall, this work seeks to contribute to the academic discussion on innovative approaches to upscale the work of incubators for refugees. Further research will involve co-developing practical approaches with incubators for refugees, cooperating on the implementation, and measuring impact. The goal of providing incubators with relevant practical insights is to deploy more significant numbers of refugees as entrepreneurs and contribute to broader social and economic impact.
... Level of education is considered an important sociodemographic variable associated with neuropsychological performance that contributes to normative data differences (Lynn et al., 2018). Individuals with higher levels of education tend to perform better on most neuropsychological tests than those with lower levels of education (Lezak et al., 2012). ...
Neuropsychologists can expect to meet with increasing rates of patients who use methamphetamine (MA), as MA use is on the rise, often comorbid with other substance use disorders, and frequently accompanied by changes in cognitive functioning. To detect impairment, neuropsychologists must apply the appropriate normative data according to important demographic factors such as age, sex, and education. This study involved 241 adults with and without MA dependence who were administered the Neuropsychological Assessment Battery. Given the high rates of polysubstance use among adults who use MA, we included adults with mono-dependence and poly-dependence on MA and at least one other substance. We compared the rates of adults with and without previous MA dependence classified as impaired on neurocognitive testing when using norms corrected for age, education, and sex versus norms corrected only for age. Norms corrected for age, education, and sex resulted in less frequent identification of impairment compared to norms corrected only for age, but both sets of norms appeared sufficient and similar enough to warrant their use with this population. It may be appropriate to explore the possible implications of discrepancies between education-corrected and non-education corrected sets of scores when assessing impairment in individuals who use MA.
... We found very strong correlations between overall province social status or well-being of provinces and their levels of intelligence as estimated by either contemporary INVALSI scholastic tests or by an age-heaping based numeracy estimate from the 1800s. This provides support for intelligence, and more generally, human capital models of regional social inequality, as has been found in a large number of other countries (Lynn et al., 2018). Prior studies using second-level subnational units have found correlations between intelligence measures and indexes of socioeconomic status of r = .66 ...
Italy shows a strong north-south gradient in measures of well-being, with the northern areas being far wealthier than the southern. Less well known is that there is also a latitudinal gradient in intelligence. We combined numeracy scores based on age heaping data for Italian provinces from the censuses of 1861, 1871, and 1881 with modern data about scholastic ability from the INVALSI, and important social outcomes such as mortality and income (up to 107 provinces in analyses). We show that there is a strong stability of the intelligence differences across 150 years for the overlapping set of 69 provinces. Intelligence measured in the 1800s predicts overall well-being just as well as modern data, r’s .78 and .82, for age heaping and INVALSI, respectively. We discuss the findings in light of recent evidence of genetic differences in regional intelligence levels. Keywords: Age heaping, Intelligence, Italy, 19th century
... As the world develops, more data should be released from countries allowing national IQ to be tested with large samples. However, regional levels of prosperity have consistently had a strong relationship with regional IQs (Fuerst & Kirkegaard, 2016;Lynn et al., 2018). Given that there are no sample biases for within-country studies, we should be skeptical to think that sample bias plays any substantial role in the high performance of national IQ to predict growth. ...
Since Lynn and Vanhanen's book IQ and the Wealth of Nations (2002), many publications have evidenced a relationship between national IQ and national prosperity. The strongest statistical case for this lies in Jones and Schneider's (2006) use of Bayesian model averaging to run thousands of regressions on GDP growth (1960-1996), using different combinations of explanatory variables. This generated a weighted average over many regressions to create estimates robust to the problem of model uncertainty. We replicate and extend Jones and Schneider's work with many new robustness tests, including new variables, different time periods, different priors and different estimates of average national intelligence. We find national IQ to be the "best predictor" of economic growth, with a higher average coefficient and average posterior inclusion probability than all other tested variables (over 67) in every test run. Our best estimates find a one point increase in IQ is associated with a 7.8% increase in GDP per capita, above Jones and Schneider's estimate of 6.1%. We tested the causality of national IQs using three different instrumental variables: cranial capacity, ancestry-adjusted UV radiation, and 19 th-century numeracy scores. We found little evidence for reverse causation, with only ancestry-adjusted UV radiation passing the Wu-Hausman test (p < .05) when the logarithm of GDP per capita in 1960 was used as the only control variable.
... Similarly, the two estimates of social status correlated strongly with each other (r = .60). Regional ancestry has been statistically linked to cognitive ability numerous times Lynn et al., 2018). The only ancestry that shows a beyond chance level relationship to any of the social status or cognitive ability measures was Mapuche ancestry which showed a -.75 correlation with HDI, but not much with the other two variables. ...
We investigated how genetically measured ancestry relates to social status in Chile. Our study is based on a dataset of 1,805 subjects previously analyzed in another study. Ancestry was measured using genetic analysis based on microarray data. Overall we find that compared to European ancestry (44%), the Amerindian ancestries Mapuche (central Chile, 36%) and Aymara (northern, 17%) both predict lower social status (standardized betas =-1.77 and-0.97, p's < .001). The amount of African ancestry was relatively minor in this sample (3%), but tentatively was associated with lower social status (beta =-2.15, p = .03). These differences held controlling for age, gender, and region of residence. Our analyses of the regional-level data (n=13) did not produce any findings. The sample size is probably too small and coarse-grained for this analysis to be viable.
... The problem of regional differences has always been one of the most common and essential problems all around the world [10][11][12] . With the increasingly significant regional differences in population, scholars from various countries began to analyze population data from a spatial perspective. ...
The continuing decline in the birth rate has led to a serious problems, such as the disproportion population structure, severe aging population, which has restricted the country’s economic development. To understand more deeply the geographical differences and influencing factors of the birth rate, this paper collects and organizes the birth population data of 31 provinces in mainland China from 2014 to 2019. The national region is divided into seven natural geographical regions to obtain the spatial hierarchy, and a hierarchical Bayesian spatio-temporal model is established. The model parameters are estimated by the INLA algorithm. The results show that there are significant spatial and temporal differences in birth rates in mainland China, which are reflected mainly in the combination of economic, spatial, temporal, and spatio-temporal interaction effects. With the increase of per capita disposable income, population’s fertility intention decreases, but regional GDP still has a high positive impact on the local birth rate. The spatial and temporal pattern of the birth rate is the remaining explanation. In spatial dimension, the northeast is low, the northwest and southwest are high, and the birth rate has an upward trend from east to west. These trends are caused by unbalanced economic development, different fertility attitudes and differences in fertility security, reflecting regional differences in spatial effects. In the time dimension, from 2014 to 2019, China’s birth rate showed an overall downward trend. However, all regions except the northeast saw a significant but temporary increase in birth rates in 2016 and 2017, reflecting the time effect difference in birth rates.
... Uma revisão narrativa (Lynn et al., 2018) que investigou sobre as diferenças regionais em inteligência em 22 países (Brasil entre os países estudados) e seus aspectos sociais, econômicos e demográficos demonstrou que há consistência entre esses países em relação aos aspectos já citados. Uma das relações que os autores encontraram foi que em todos os países, os QI regionais foram positivamente correlacionados com a renda per capita medida como renda média, PIB ou alguma medida semelhante, demonstrando que a inteligência é um fator importante para a renda dos indivíduos. ...
he main objective of this study is to discuss the possible comorbidity between the diagnoses of Intellectual Disability and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, as well as to identify how diagnoses are made. A systematic review was conducted, using the Prisma method, being conducted in the databases PubMed, LILACS, Scopus and ERIC. A total of
679 were identified and 11 of them met the inclusion criteria. The review of the 11 studies indicates that 7 articles directly discuss the relationship between diagnoses and 4 of them discuss diagnoses tangentially. Although some evidence suggests that ADHD is a comorbidity found in children with ID, there are still disagreements on this topic, as diagnostic manuals do not indicate as a possible comorbidity. Thus, it is suggested the importance of the clinical view about the symptoms of each
Keywords: intellectual disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, functionality.
... Additional evidence comes from a home visiting intervention that provided learning opportunities for children in Jamaica who were stunted, resulting in significant gains in intelligence and school performance through adolescence and increased earnings in adulthood (10). In addition to nutrition, intelligence is related to social class, exposure to cumulated adversities, parental nurturance, and educational and other learning opportunities (11). Programs and services based on nurturing care can facilitate growth and development throughout childhood and adolescence, as well as protect children from the negative consequences of early adversities. ...
... The students' outcomes in education are positively associated with a wide range of economic, social, and demographic phenomena, including educational attainment, intellectual achievement, income, and socio-economic status. Studies have found different regional outcomes in education within nations, pointing to IQ differences just attributed to regional differences in prosperity (Lynn, Fuerst, and Kirkegaard, 2018). Ex-ante, we would expect wealthier regions to be more efficient in educational attainment. ...
The purpose of this paper is twofold: To measure school technical efficiency and to identify the determinants of elementary school performance among Mexican states. Our panel data consist of 48,645 public elementary schools observed annually from 2009 to 2011, a period where subnational states administered most of the educational expenditure. We propose a two-stage analysis. In the first stage, the stochastic frontier analysis is used to calculate elementary schools’ technical efficiency. In the second stage, efficiency is regressed on school characteristics and environmental variables using panel data analysis while capturing state heterogeneity. We find that primary schools have important inputs under their control that affects educational outcomes. The principal’s non-teaching load, infrastructure, teaching experience, and expenditure per student all have a positive and significant effect on efficiency. As for state-level characteristics, we find that states’ primary school spending is not necessarily positively linked to efficiency. Finally, we observe that fragmentation and regionalization of teachers’ unions negatively affect efficiency in elementary public education.
... The inherent individual differences in cognition (Deary, Penke, & Johnson, 2010), and known implications those differences have for social outcomes (i.e., educational attainment, job performance, and mortality; Deary, Weiss, & Batty, 2010;Lynn, Fuerst, & Kirkegaard, 2018), have motivated sustained study of the relationship between inter-individual structural and cognitive variability in typically-developing populations (Kanai & Rees, 2011). Results are some-what mixed, but generally support a distributed, directionally-positive model of cognition and structure in health, with increases in cognitive abilities correlated with increases in both total brain volume (TBV) (Cox, Ritchie, Fawns-Ritchie, Tucker-Drob, & Deary, 2019;Mcdaniel, 2005;Pietschnig, Penke, Wicherts, Zeiler, & Voracek, 2015) and regional gray matter volume (GMV) (Basten, Hilger, & Fiebach, 2015;Jung & Haier, 2007). ...
Sex chromosome aneuploidy (SCA) increases the risk for cognitive deficits, and confers changes in regional cortical thickness (CT) and surface area (SA). Neuroanatomical correlates of inter‐individual variation in cognitive ability have been described in health, but are not well‐characterized in SCA. Here, we modeled relationships between general cognitive ability (estimated using full‐scale IQ [FSIQ] from Wechsler scales) and regional estimates of SA and CT (from structural MRI scans) in both aneuploid (28 XXX, 55 XXY, 22 XYY, 19 XXYY) and typically‐developing euploid (79 XX, 85 XY) individuals. Results indicated widespread decoupling of normative anatomical–cognitive relationships in SCA: we found five regions where SCA significantly altered SA–FSIQ relationships, and five regions where SCA significantly altered CT–FSIQ relationships. The majority of areas were characterized by the presence of positive anatomy‐IQ relationships in health, but no or slightly negative anatomy‐IQ relationships in SCA. Disrupted anatomical–cognitive relationships generalized from the full cohort to karyotypically defined subcohorts (i.e., XX‐XXX; XY‐XYY; XY‐XXY), demonstrating continuity across multiple supernumerary SCA conditions. As the first direct evidence of altered regional neuroanatomical–cognitive relationships in supernumerary SCA, our findings shed light on potential genetic and structural correlates of the cognitive phenotype in SCA, and may have implications for other neurogenetic disorders.
... Throughout the course of history, genetic ideologies have been used to justify a number of aberrations: discouraging the abolition of slavery (Evrie, 1868), resisting desegregation (Mayo, 1913), restricting immigration (Brigham, 1922), enforcing involuntary sterilization (Buck v. Bell, 1927) and validating socioeconomic (Galton, 1869) and racial inequalities (Shockley, 1972) while reinforcing White supremacist beliefs. The use of genetic language to describe racial and socioeconomic differences in cognitive ability was commonplace in the 19th (Galton, 1869;Hunt, 1864) and early 20th centuries (Jenkins, 1939;Jensen, 1968Jensen, , 1970Shockley, 1971); it continues today in the 21st (Carl, 2018;Lynn et al., 2018;Piffer, 2015). ...
Behavioural genetics regards intelligence and educational attainment as highly heritable (genetically influenced) and polygenic (influenced by many genes) traits. Researchers in the field have moved beyond identifying whether and how much genes influence a given outcome to trying to pinpoint the genetic markers that help predict them. In more recent years, behavioural genetics research has attempted to cross-over into the field of education, looking to play a role in education research and the construction of education policy. In response to these developments, this paper explores PreK-12 American educators’ perceptions of intelligence in relation to genetics and their views on the relevance of behavioural genetics findings for education. It does so within the context of an ugly history tied to race and racism and an uncertain future. Findings from this mixed-methods study suggest that US teachers believe that genetics play an important role in a student’s intelligence and academic achievement. Furthermore, teachers are open to learning more about the inclusion of genetics research in education policy. At the same time, however, teachers believe that the environment, and in particular parents and a child’s home environment, plays a substantial role in a student’s abilities and education outcomes.
... Similarly, groups within a given country are known to differ in intelligence, and their relative social status mostly reflects these differences. This is true for geographic/regional differences, race/ethnic groups, and social status/class differences (Herrnstein & Murray, 1994;Lynn, 2008;Lynn, Fuerst & Kirkegaard, 2018). Previous research has shown that names, both first and last, are related to these social divisions (Clark, 2015;Fryer & Levitt, 2004;Fuerst, 2015;Kandt, Cheshire & Longley, 2016;Liddell & Lycett, 1998;Lopes, 2017;Monasterio, 2017). ...
It is well established that general intelligence varies in the population and is causal for variation in later life outcomes, in particular for social status and education. We linked IQ-test scores from the Danish draft test (Børge Prien Prøven, BPP) to social status for a list of 265 relatively common names in Denmark (85% male). Intelligence at the level of first name was strongly related to social status, r = .64. Ten names in the dataset were non-western, Muslim names. These names averaged an IQ of 81 (range 76-87) compared with 98 for the western, mostly Danish ones. Nonwestern names were also lower in social status, with a mean SES score of 2.66 standard deviations below that of western names. Mediation analysis showed that 30% of this very large gap can be explained by the IQ gap. Reasons for this relatively low level of mediation are discussed.
... A considerable amount of scholarship has found that there are regional differences in intelligence within nations and that regions with lower average scores on IQ tests have lower levels of socioeconomic development (Lynn, Fuerst, & Kirkegaard, 2018). This has been established in regions of the UK (e.g., Carl, 2016b;Lynn, 1979), France (Lynn, 1980), Italy (e.g. ...
We administered the SPM to a sample of 1614 pupils aged between 9 and 18 in 2018 in the Dhofar region of Oman. Our results were compared to a previous administration of the SPM to 5139 pupils aged 9 to 18 in the capital region of Muscat which took place in 2001. We found that the IQ of Muscat in 2001 is substantially higher than the IQ of Dhofar is 17 years later. As there are only a small number of studies on the mean IQ in Oman, we did not apply a Flynn-effect correction. It is found that these regional IQ differences are paralleled by regional differences on many correlates of IQ such as life expectancy and years spent in schooling. We suggest three key factors as likely explaining the difference in IQ: poorer conditions in Dhofar, the association between intelligence and urban migration, and the effects of the Dhofar Rebellion. Other possible explanations are also
examined.
... -integral (generalized) assessment of socio-economic indicators' impact on demographic processes in countries and regions. A number of publications have established a strong correlation between demographic indicators and factors of economic development of territories, the development of social infrastructure, science and innovations, etc. [14][15][16][17][18][19], which as a whole confirms the hypotheses about the key impact of socioeconomic development on demographic processes. Some scientists prove indirect and ambiguous influence of economic development on the dynamics and structure of Russian regions' population [20]; ...
... Measures of the overlapping constructs of cognitive ability, intelligence and school achievement are related to important outcomes at the subnational as well as the national level, which parallel the IQ correlates at the national level. Results from studies at the level of provinces or districts within many countries have been summarized by Lynn, Fuerst and Kirkegaard (2018). In addition to these geographical differences, it is also well established that in many cases different ethnic, racial, religious and social groups living in the same country differ in their average scores on cognitive tests; and as in the case of differences between countries, provinces and smaller geographical units, these cognitive differences between population groups are associated with social and economic differences (e.g., Lynn, 2006). ...
This paper compiles cognitive test results for children in Ethiopia, Andhra Pradesh (India), Peru and Vietnam from multiple rounds of the Young Lives study. In this international project, the same cognitive tests were administered to children of the same age under standardized conditions, allowing comparisons between countries and between social, ethnic, linguistic and religious groups within countries. Comparisons between countries on non-verbal tests show differences that closely resemble those that have been seen in earlier assessments of scholastic achievement and intelligence. Within each of the four countries there are significant differences between social, ethnic, linguistic and in some cases religious groups that are related to socioeconomic conditions. These results have implications for the management of inequalities that have either been present for a long time or that arise in developing countries during the process of modernization.
... In all published studies to date, cognitive ability correlates strongly with both overall well-being, and its various "subdomains". The latter include higher aggregate income and education, lower rates of crime and poor health, and even less religiosity (Lynn, Fuerst, & Kirkegaard, 2018). ...
... Differences in child performance on intelligence tests have also been reported by urban-rural location, both in developed countries (Alexopoulos, 1997;Wahlquist, 1927) and in developing ones (Castro & Rolleston, 2015, 2018. More generally, a comprehensive quantitative review of regional differences in intelligence by Lynn, Fuerst, and Kirkegaard (2018) shows these differences to be a feature, rather than an anomaly, of cognitive diversity in modern humans. ...
... Participants have to look across the rows and then look down the columns to discover the rules that govern the presentation of the diverse figural elements and then use the rules to determine the missing element. In relation to the objective of this study, this test presents a series of advantages associated with the possibility of: 1) measuring inductive reasoning skills that are related to fluid intelligence (Gf), (Buckley, Seery, Canty, & Gumaelius, 2018;Shokri-Kojori & Krawczyk, 2018) through problems that involve visuospatial information processing (Waschl, Nettelbeck, & Burns, 2017); 2) using an instrument with widespread use across studies and countries that provides a reliable and valid psychometric measure for result comparison purposes (e. g., Lynn, Fuerst, & Kirkegaard, 2018); and 3) incorporating a type of task that can be less influenced by culture factors, although not exempt from cultural differences than tests where language is specifically involved (see Li, Abarbanell, Gleitman, & Papafragou, 2011). ...
Given the correlation between poverty and belonging to certain ethnic groups found by previous studies, the present study intends to apply a statistical technique to analyze the differences in intelligence on the basics of Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices performance between indigenous children and non-indigenous children from poor rural populations when indigenous children are “treated” as (equated) non-indigenous children in terms of nutrition, maternal education and schooling. This cross-sectional study used the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition to construct a counterfactual with which to compare both groups, distinguishing between differences due to certain characteristics of the child and those differences that are unexplained by the previous differences. The present study was carried out with a sample N = 1804 of 1460 non-indigenous and 344 indigenous children, aged between 5 and 11 years, from poor rural environments in Mexico who participated and completed a reduced version of the Raven's test of intelligence. The results indicate that, when cognitive performance was equated by age and height of the child, education level of the head of the family, help in school work, and care at home, the observed differences in such performance without being equated was reduced.
... Mackintosh, 2011). Intelligence differences are also related to different regional outcomes within nations (Lynn et al., 2018). For example, Lynn & Yadav (2015) proposed that IQ differences between Indian states were due to educational differences resulting from regional differences in prosperity. ...
... Despite the challenges associated with cross-cultural assessment, many resources are available to help guide clinicians in the use of multicultural frameworks and understanding which factors may be more relevant than others (Dana, 2005;Hays, 2016;Ridley, Tracy, Pruitt-Stephens, Wimsatt, & Beard, 2008). Overall, education is a key sociodemographic variable that contributes to neuropsychological performance and normative data differences (Lezak, Howieson, Bigler, & Tranel, 2012;Lynn, Fuerst, & Kirkegaard, 2018). Within Hispanic neuropsychology, substantial educational effects on neuropsychological test performance among English and Spanish-speaking individuals have been well documented in the literature (Abad, Sorrel, Roman, & Colomn, 2016;Acevedo et al., 2007;Ardila, 1998;Ardila, Ostrosky-Solis, Rosselli, & Gómez, 2000;Cavé, 2008;Pontón & Ardila, 1999;Renteria, Li, & Pliskin, 2008). ...
Objective:
Test and normative data selection in cross-cultural neuropsychology remain a complex issue. Despite growing awareness, more studies and instruments are needed to adequately address the impact of cultural factors, such as quantity and quality of education. In this study, we examine the interpretive effects of applying six relevant WAIS-IV norms to a Colombian sample.
Method:
A sample of 305 highly educated Colombian corporate executives completed the WAIS-IV. Data were scored using norms from Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Spain, United States, and Canada and scores were compared using ANOVA. Additionally, a comparative sociodemographic framework was established to contextualize our sample to the standardization samples and populations of the six countries.
Results:
Colombian and Chilean norms yielded systematically similar FSIQ/Index scores (mean range = 117-121), while incrementally lower scores were found with norms from Mexico (-3-9 points), Spain (-3-11 points), USA (-8-13 points), and Canada (-11-18 points). Verbal scores differed, with highest scores obtained with Mexican and Spanish norms. Working memory and processing speed scores had the lowest score agreement across norms.
Conclusions:
Although the Chilean norms are more frequently used in Colombia, the recently developed Colombian norms appear optimal for our sample; the scores do not have meaningful differences with those obtained with Chilean norms and offer local population representation fidelity. Mexican, Spanish, US, and Canadian norms underestimated WAIS-IV scores and distorted the sample's score distribution. Finally, verbal scores highlight potential education representation within Spanish and Mexican norms, while working memory and processing speed scores suggest cultural nuances likely captured within different norms.
This study aims to understand some of the main trends in tourist segmentation in the context of fashion tourism, with an emphasis on relationship marketing. The research study brings together a proposed conceptual model to understand some of the main determinants of tourist demand in fashion tourism environments and their behavioral intentions (i.e., satisfaction and loyalty). Fashion tourism is a niche market segment that evolved out of three major sectors: creative tourism, cultural tourism, and shopping tourism. Fashion tourism can be defined as the interaction between Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs), trade associations, tourism suppliers, and host communities, with people traveling to and visiting a particular place for business or leisure to enjoy, experiment, discover, study, trade, communicate about and consume fashion. The present study represents an important contribution in relation to the management of tourist destinations and the development of the relationship with the consumer. This manuscript is an aid to marketing and management in specific contexts of fashion tourism. The present study has as its main limitation its embryonic stage, not including collection of primary data or development of an empirical study.KeywordsSegmentationFashion tourismTourism marketingRelationship management
This paper analyses whether schools with better scores in National Exams are in regions NUTs III with greater purchasing power. Accordingly, we analyse the evolution of the ranking of schools considering the purchasing power of the regions where they are located. Using data collected in the media, related to school rankings by region for 2008 and 2014 and in Pordata database for regional purchasing power in 2007 and 2011, we calculate location and specialization measures and perform a regional shift-share analysis. The results show that schools located in regions with very high and high purchasing powers rank first, and both structural and regional changes are positive. A notable exception is the region of Alto Alentejo with a medium purchasing power. In contrast, regions with low purchasing power show negative structural and regional changes. These results indicate that, with an exception, the gap between regions of low and high purchasing powers has been perpetuated.KeywordsEconomic growthEducation performanceHuman capitalRegional convergenceShift-share analysis
The continuing decline in the birth rate has led to a series of problems, such as the disproportion of population structure and severe aging population, which have restricted the country’s economic development. To have a deeper understanding of the geographical differences and influencing factors of the birth rate, this paper collects and organizes the birth population data of 31 provinces in mainland China from 2011 to 2019. The national region is divided into seven natural geographical regions to obtain the spatial hierarchy, and a hierarchical Bayesian Spatio-temporal model is established. The INLA algorithm estimates the model parameters. The results show significant spatial and temporal differences in birth rates in mainland China, which are reflected mainly in the combination of spatial, temporal, and Spatio-temporal interaction effects. In the spatial dimension, the northeast is low, the northwest and southwest are high, and the birth rate has an upward trend from east to west. These trends are caused by unbalanced economic development, different fertility attitudes and differences in fertility security, reflecting regional differences in spatial effects. From 2011 to 2019, China’s birth rate showed an overall downward trend in the time dimension. However, all regions except the northeast saw a significant but temporary increase in birth rates in 2016 and 2017, reflecting the temporal effect difference in birth rates.
The rise in the intelligence tests scores across the generations, known as the Flynn effect, is widely studied in various countries due to critical role of intelligence as the most important component of human capital. Several explanations for the Flynn effect have been proposed, none of which have a predominant status. At least partly it can be explained by deficiency of studies devoted to the influence of various moderators on the speed and trajectory of the intelligence scores gain. This study presents the results of an analysis of the impact on the Flynn effect of such a poorly studied factor as the settlements’ size of a populated point. Intelligence scores (n = 267116) obtained during large-scale online testing of men aged 18—40 years between 2012 and 2019 were distributed among seven categories of populated points determined by their population size. Significant differences were revealed both in the level of IQ scores and in the rate of its growth, depend- ing on the respondents belonging to these categories. Differences in the level of intelligence of residents of megalopolises and small towns are 7 IQ-points on average, and the dynamics of growth in intelligence scores in the period 1983—2000 differs in some of the categories by more than 2 times. The smallest trend for this period was in cities with a population of 100 to 249.9 thousand people. Possible explanations for the differences are suggested. In particular, the selective migration of the most educated and intellectual part of their population to large cities and capitals may be a possible mechanism for inhibiting the Flynn effect in settlements with a smaller population.
Background
Sufficient sleep during childhood is important for cognitive functions such as learning and successful school performance. This study aimed to investigate the effects of sleep duration on the intelligence quotient (IQ) of 6-year-old children and aimed to analyze whether these effects differed by sex.Methods
The IQ of 538 6-year-old Korean participants from the cohort study, “The Environment and Development of Children,” was measured during follow-up using the Korean Educational Developmental Institute’s Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. The total, verbal, and performance IQ scores were evaluated. The relationship between sleep duration and IQ scores after adjusting for maternal age, maternal educational level, maternal occupation, maternal IQ, exposure to secondhand smoking, gestational age, and monthly age and birth season was also assessed.ResultsLonger sleep duration was significantly associated with improved verbal IQ measures (β 0.55; p value 0.030). After stratifying participants by sex, a significant association was observed between sleep duration and total, verbal, and performance IQ scores in boys (total IQ 2.49, p value 0.012; verbal IQ 0.75, p value: 0.037; performance IQ 0.73, p value 0.048), but not in girls.Conclusions
The results indicated that only boys show a significant association between IQ scores and sleep duration. These findings support the hypothesis that sleep duration is associated with IQ, in a sex dependent manner. Future studies are needed for a thorough evaluation of the connection between sleep duration and health outcome in young children.
The relationship between PISA 2012 maths test scores and relative poverty was tested in a sample of 35 Italian and Spanish regions, together with a larger sample that included Australian, Belgian, and Canadian regions. The correlation between mean scores in mathematics, adjusted for students' socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, and poverty rates is ‐−0.84 for the Italian and Spanish sample, and −0.68 for the complete sample. In the regressions, the effect of relative poverty on mean scores in mathematics is highly significant (p < 0.01), robust to different specifications, and independent from students' backgrounds and regional development levels. It is proposed that disparities in average scores in mathematics across regions depend on the shares of low-performing students which, in turn, depend on the degree of relative poverty within regions. The implications for the thesis according to which, in Italy and Spain, regional disparities in educational achievements reflect genetic differences in the IQ of populations are discussed.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the role of innovations in provision of competitiveness and innovational development of economy and overcoming of “underdevelopment whirlpools” in Russia and countries of Eastern Europe with the help of a special proprietary methodology.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors substantiate the concept and methodology of calculation of “underdevelopment whirlpools”, perform the analysis of development of “underdevelopment whirlpools” in Russia and countries of Eastern Europe and evaluate the influence of “underdevelopment whirlpools” on competitiveness of these countries’ economy.
Findings
The authors determine the perspectives of overcoming the “underdevelopment whirlpools” in Russia and countries of Eastern Europe and increasing their competitiveness with the help of innovation and develops practical recommendations for creation of innovational economy for the purpose of provision of high competitiveness and overcoming of “underdevelopment whirlpools” in Russia and countries of Eastern Europe and overcoming of strong and growing differentiation of the level of socio-economic development of their sub-systems.
Practical implications
Creation of innovational economy in Russia and countries of Eastern Europe is hindered by multiple obstacles (socio-economic and institutional), the success of overcoming of which determines the realization of a certain scenario of development of events.
Originality/value
The main conclusion is that creation of innovational economy can and should become a new vector of economic growth in Russia and countries of Eastern Europe and overcoming of strong and growing differentiation of the level of socio-economic development of their sub-systems.
A dataset of socioeconomic, demographic and geographic data for US counties (N≈3,100) was created by merging data from several sources. A suitable subset of 28 socioeconomic indicators was chosen for analysis. Factor analysis revealed a clear general socioeconomic factor (S factor) which was stable across extraction methods and different samples of indicators (absolute split-half sampling reliability = .85).
Self-identified race/ethnicity (SIRE) population percentages were strongly, but non-linearly, related to cognitive ability and S. In general, the effect of White% and Asian% were positive, while those for Black%, Hispanic% and Amerindian% were negative. The effect was unclear for Other/mixed%. The best model consisted of White%, Black%, Asian% and Amerindian% and explained 41/43% of the variance in cognitive ability/S among counties.
SIRE homogeneity had a non-linear relationship to S, both with and without taking into account the effects of SIRE variables. Overall, the effect was slightly negative due to low S, high White% areas.
Geospatial (latitude, longitude, and elevation) and climatological (temperature, precipitation) predictors were tested in models. In linear regression, they had little incremental validity. However, there was evidence of non-linear relationships. When models were fitted that allowed for non-linear effects of the environmental predictors, they were able to add a moderate amount of incremental validity. LASSO regression, however, suggested that much of this predictive validity was due to overfitting. Furthermore, it was difficult to make causal sense of the results.
Spatial patterns in the data were examined using multiple methods, all of which indicated strong spatial autocorrelation for cognitive ability, S and SIRE (k nearest spatial neighbor regression [KNSNR] correlations of .62 to .89). Model residuals were also spatially autocorrelated, and for this reason the models were re-fit controlling for spatial autocorrelation using KNSNR-based residuals and spatial local regression. The results indicated that the effects of SIREs were not due to spatially autocorrelated confounds except possibly for Black% which was about 50% weaker in the controlled analyses.
Pseudo-multilevel analyses of both the factor structure of S and the SIRE predictive model showed results consistent with the main analyses. Specifically, the factor structure was similar across levels of analysis (states and counties) and within states. Furthermore, the SIRE predictors had similar betas when examined within each state compared to when analyzed across all states.
It was tested whether the relationship between SIREs and S was mediated by cognitive ability. Several methods were used to examine this question and the results were mixed, but generally in line with a partial mediation model.
Jensen's method (method of correlated vectors) was used to examine whether the observed relationship between cognitive ability and S scores was plausibly due to the latent S factor. This was strongly supported (r = .91, Nindicators=28). Similarly, it was examined whether the relationship between SIREs and S scores was plausibly due to the latent S factor. This did not appear to be the case.
Some new methods for factor analyzing socioeconomic data are presented, discussed and illustrated with analyses of new and old datasets. A general socioeconomic factor (S) was found in a dataset of 47 French-speaking Swiss provinces from 1888. It was strongly related (r’s .64 to .70) to cognitive ability as measured by an army examination. Fertility had a strong negative loading (r -.44 to -.67). Results were similar when using rank-transformed data. The S factor of international rankings data was found to have a split-half factor reliability of .93, that of the general factor of personality extracted from 25 OCEAN items .55, and that of the general cognitive ability factor .68 based on 16 items from the International Cognitive Ability Resource.
Fuerst and Kirkegaard (this issue) showed in various American countries that European ancestry positively determines cognitive ability and socioeconomic outcomes regardless of the effects of infectious diseases and other variables. In this paper I show that this is not the case in the United States of America when saturated path analysis models which minimize multicollinearity are applied to state data. It is latitude which positively determines cognitive ability and this in turn positively determines income per capita regardless of race and infectious disease rate. U.S. Census self-classification as White has non-significant effects on cognitive ability and has negative effects on income per capita among U.S. states once relevant variables are controlled. Similar results are obtained when the Eugenomic variable of Fuerst and Kirkegaard is targeted in the path analyses. Thus, the evidence does not uphold their conclusion that European ancestry explains differences in cognitive ability among U.S. states.
This study reports data for the intelligence of 15 year olds in 42 provinces and cities of the Russian Federation assessed in the 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and their economic, social and geographical correlates. It was found that the average PISA scores of the provinces and cities were significantly correlated with the scores on the Unified State Examination in 2014 (r =.53, p<.001) reported by Grigoriev et al. (2016), with literacy rates in 1897 (r =.50, p<.01), with the percentage of ethnic Russians in the population, and with latitude and longitude showing that PISA scores were higher in the more northerly and westerly provinces.
Analyses of the relationships between cognitive ability, socioeconomic outcomes, and European ancestry were carried out at multiple levels in Argentina: individual (max. n = 5,920), district (n = 437), municipal (n = 299), and provincial (n = 24). Socioeconomic outcomes correlated in expected ways such that there was a general socioeconomic factor (S factor). The structure of this factor replicated across four levels of analysis, with a mean congruence coefficient of .96. Cognitive ability and S were moderately to strongly correlated at the four levels of analyses: individual r=.55 (.44 before disattenuation), district r=.52, municipal r=.66, and provincial r=.88. European biogeographic ancestry (BGA) for the provinces was estimated from 25 genomics papers. These estimates were validated against European ancestry estimated from self-identified race/ethnicity (SIRE; r=.67) and interviewer-rated skin brightness (r=.33). On the provincial level, European BGA correlated strongly with scholastic achievement-based cognitive ability and composite S-factor scores (r's .48 and .54, respectively). These relationships were not due to confounding with latitude or mean temperature when analyzed in multivariate analyses. There were no BGA data for the other levels, so we relied on %White, skin brightness, and SIRE-based ancestry estimates instead, all of which were related to cognitive ability and S at all levels of analysis. At the individual level, skin brightness was related to both cognitive ability and S. Regression analyses showed that SIRE had little detectable predictive validity when skin brightness was included in models. Similarly, the correlations between skin brightness, cognitive ability, and S were also found inside SIRE groups. The results were similar when analyzed within provinces. In general, results were congruent with a familial model of individual and regional outcome differences.
Data are reported for intelligence and fertility in the Russian Federation. There was a statistically significant negative correlation for 29 provinces showing dysgenic fertility for intelligence in contemporary Russia. The negative relationship between test score and number of children was observed at the individual level as well. This relationship is not linear: only third and higher order births are associated with lower intelligence. Dysgenic fertility for intelligence was greater for men than for women, mainly because Raven scores of childless women were slightly lower than those of women with one or two children.
One hundred years of research (1916–2016) on intellectually precocious youth is reviewed, painting a portrait of an extraordinary source of human capital and the kinds of learning opportunities needed to facilitate exceptional accomplishments, life satisfaction, and positive growth. The focus is on those studies conducted on individuals within the top 1% in general or specific (mathematical, spatial, or verbal reasoning) abilities. Early insights into the giftedness phenomenon actually foretold what would be scientifically demonstrated 100 years later. Thus, evidence-based conceptualizations quickly moved from viewing intellectually precocious individuals as weak and emotionally liable to highly effective and resilient individuals. Like all groups, intellectually precocious students and adults have strengths and relative weaknesses; they also reveal vast differences in their passion for different pursuits and their drive to achieve. Because they do not possess multipotentiality, we must take a multidimensional view of their individuality. When done, it predicts well long-term educational, occupational, and creative outcomes.
Previously, we looked at the association between overall state-level biogeographic ancestry (BGA) and overall state-level outcomes. It was found that European BGA relative to African and Amerindian BGA was associated with better outcomes. In this paper, the analysis is extended by looking at the state-level ancestry-outcome associations individually for black and Hispanic self-identified race-ethnicity (SIRE) groups. General socioeconomic factor (S) scores were calculated for US states by SIRE groups based on three indicators. The S factor loadings were generally stable across subgroup analyses and the factor scores were stable across factor analytic extraction methods (for the latter, almost all r's ≈ 1). For Whites, Blacks and Hispanics, there were strong correlations between cognitive ability scores and S factor scores across states (r = .55 to .78; N = 28-50). This pattern also held when all data were analyzed together (r = .86, N = 115). Furthermore, the size of the Hispanic-White and Black-White S and cognitive ability gaps strongly correlated across states (r = .62 to .69; N = 36-37). Lastly, parasite prevalence did not plausibly explain SIRE gaps in cognitive ability because gaps were smaller in more parasite-rich states (combined analysis r = -.17, N = 91). We found that climatic and geospatial variables did not correlate strongly with cognitive ability and S scores when scores were decomposed by SIRE group, but did so at the total state level, even after statistically controlling for SIRE composition.
Key words: Inequality, General socioeconomic factor, S factor, USA, States, Cognitive ability, Intelligence, NAEP, Race, SIRE, Biogeographic ancestry, Ecology
Two datasets of Japanese socioeconomic data for Japanese prefectures (N=47) were obtained and merged. After quality control, there were 44 variables for use in a factor analysis. Indicator sampling reliability analysis revealed poor reliability (54% of the correlations were |r| > .50). Inspection of the factor loadings revealed no clear S factor with many indicators loading in opposite than expected directions.
A cognitive ability measure was constructed from three scholastic ability measures (all loadings > .90). On first analysis, cognitive ability was not strongly related to 'S' factor scores, r = -.19 [CI95: -.45 to .19; N=47]. Jensen's method did not support the interpretation that the relationship is between latent 'S' and cognitive ability (r = -.15; N=44). Cognitive ability was nevertheless related to some socioeconomic indicators in expected ways.
A reviewer suggested controlling for population size or population density. When this was done, a relatively clear S factor emerged. Using the best control method (log population density), indicator sampling reliability was high (93% |r|>.50). The scores were strongly related to cognitive ability r = .67 [CI95: .48 to .80]. Jensen's method supported the interpretation that cognitive ability was related to the S factor (r = .78) and not just to the non-general factor variance.
We conducted novel analyses regarding the association between continental racial ancestry, cognitive ability and socioeconomic outcomes across 6 datasets: states of Mexico, states of the United States, states of Brazil, departments of Colombia, sovereign nations and all units together. We find that European ancestry is consistently and usually strongly positively correlated with cognitive ability and socioeconomic outcomes (mean r for cognitive ability = .708; for socioeconomic well-being = .643) (Sections 3-8). In most cases, including another ancestry component, in addition to European ancestry, did not increase predictive power (Section 9). At the national level, the association between European ancestry and outcomes was robust to controls for natural-environmental factors (Section 10). This was not always the case at the regional level (Section 18). It was found that genetic distance did not have predictive power independent of European ancestry (Section 10). Automatic modeling using best subset selection and lasso regression agreed in most cases that European ancestry was a non-redundant predictor (Section 11). Results were robust across 4 different ways of weighting the analyses (Section 12). It was found that the effect of European ancestry on socioeconomic outcomes was mostly mediated by cognitive ability (Section 13). We failed to find evidence of international colorism or culturalism (i.e., neither skin reflectance nor self-reported race/ethnicity showed incremental predictive ability once genomic ancestry had been taken into account) (Section 14). The association between European ancestry and cognitive outcomes was robust across a number of alternative measures of cognitive ability (Section 15). It was found that the general socioeconomic factor was not structurally different in the American sample as compared to the worldwide sample, thus justifying the use of that measure. Using Jensen's method of correlated vectors, it was found that the association between European ancestry and socioeconomic outcomes was stronger on more S factor loaded outcomes, r = .75 (Section 16). There was some evidence that tourist expenditure helped explain the relatively high socioeconomic performance of Caribbean states (Section 17).
The authors reply to 6 comments on their target article on admixture in the Americas. Theoretical and methodological issues are clarified.
A dataset of 30 diverse socioeconomic variables was collected covering 32 London boroughs. Factor analysis of the data revealed a general socioeconomic factor. This factor was strongly related to GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) scores (r's .683 to .786) and and had weak to medium sized negative relationships to demographic variables related to immigrants (r's -.295 to -.558).
Jensen's method indicated that these relationships were related to the underlying general factor, especially for GCSE (coefficients |.48| to |.69|).
In multiple regression, about 60% of the variance in S outcomes could be accounted for using GCSE and one variable related to immigrants.
Two sets of socioeconomic data for 90-96 French departements were analyzed. One dataset was found in Lynn (1980) and contained four socioeconomic variables. Mixed results were found for this dataset, both with regards to the factor structure and the relationship to cognitive ability. Another dataset with 53 variables was created by compiling variables from the official French statistics bureau (Insee). This dataset contained an impure general socioeconomic (S) factor (some undesirable variables loaded positively), but after controlling for the presence of immigrants, the S factor became purer. This was especially salient for crime, unemployment and poverty variables. The two S factors correlated at r = 0.66 [CI95:0.52-0.76; N = 88]. The IQ scores from the 1950s dataset correlated at 0.33 [CI95:0.13-0.51, N = 88] with the S factor from the 2010-2015 dataset.
Background:
Cognitive ability tests are widely assumed to measure maximal intellectual performance and predictive associations between intelligence quotient (IQ) scores and later mental health problems. Very few epidemiologic studies have been done to demonstrate the relationship between familial inbreeding and modest cognitive impairments in children.
Objective:
We aimed to estimate the effect of inbreeding on children's cognitive behavior in comparison with non-inbred children.
Methodology:
A cohort of 408 children (6 to 15 years of age) was selected from inbred and non-inbred families of five Muslim populations of Jammu region. The Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC) was used to measure the verbal IQ (VIQ), performance IQ (PIQ) and full scale IQ (FSIQ). Family pedigrees were drawn to access the family history and children's inbred status in terms of coefficient of inbreeding (F).
Results:
We found significant decline in child cognitive abilities due to inbreeding and high frequency of mental retardation among offspring from inbred families. The mean differences (95% C.I.) were reported for the VIQ, being -22.00 (-24.82, -19.17), PIQ -26.92 (-29.96, -23.87) and FSIQ -24.47 (-27.35,-21.59) for inbred as compared to non-inbred children (p<0.001) [corrected].The higher risk of being mentally retarded was found to be more obvious among inbred categories corresponding to the degree of inbreeding and the same accounts least for non-inbred children (p<0.0001). We observed an increase in the difference in mean values for VIQ, PIQ and FSIQ with the increase of inbreeding coefficient and these were found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). The regression analysis showed a fitness decline (depression) for VIQ (R2 = 0.436), PIQ (R2 = 0.468) and FSIQ (R2 = 0.464) with increasing inbreeding coefficients (p<0.01).
Conclusions:
Our comprehensive assessment provides the evidence for inbreeding depression on cognitive abilities among children.
The north–south difference in Italy in PISA 2006 scores in reading comprehension, mathematical and science abilities of 15-year-olds has been attributed by Lynn (2010a) to a difference of approximately 10 IQ points in intelligence and by critics to differences in educational resources. New evidence for differences between north and south Italy in the PISA 2012 Creative Problem Solving test as a measure of fluid intelligence shows a 9.2 IQ point between the north–west and the south and confirms Lynn's theory. New data are presented for genetic differences between the populations of north and south Italy.
Evolutionary psychologists attribute the superior IQs of light-skinned populations to genetic imprints left by millenary processes promoted by cold. But a novel theory that explains IQ gains observed across recent generations ascribes them to a latitude → UVB radiation → vitamin D3 → parents' sexual hormones → family size → child's intellectual environment → IQ chain of effects. Analyses of 506,347 Peruvian children's math and reading scores from a national census confirmed that complex cognitive ability increases with absolute latitude even under tropical megathermal climates and decreases with high altitude above sea level, birth rate and social development mediate most of the effects, and reading is more strongly influenced than math. The findings weaken the evolutionary cold hypothesis and strengthen the view that contraception has the potential to reduce latitudinal IQ gaps.
The Flynn effect refers to the observed rise in IQ scores over time, which results in norms obsolescence. Although the Flynn effect is widely accepted, most efforts to estimate it have relied upon "scorecard" approaches that make estimates of its magnitude and error of measurement controversial and prevent determination of factors that moderate the Flynn effect across different IQ tests. We conducted a meta-analysis to determine the magnitude of the Flynn effect with a higher degree of precision, to determine the error of measurement, and to assess the impact of several moderator variables on the mean effect size. Across 285 studies (N = 14,031) since 1951 with administrations of 2 intelligence tests with different normative bases, the meta-analytic mean was 2.31, 95% CI [1.99, 2.64], standard score points per decade. The mean effect size for 53 comparisons (N = 3,951, excluding 3 atypical studies that inflate the estimates) involving modern (since 1972) Stanford-Binet and Wechsler IQ tests (2.93, 95% CI [2.3, 3.5], IQ points per decade) was comparable to previous estimates of about 3 points per decade but was not consistent with the hypothesis that the Flynn effect is diminishing. For modern tests, study sample (larger increases for validation research samples vs. test standardization samples) and order of administration explained unique variance in the Flynn effect, but age and ability level were not significant moderators. These results supported previous estimates of the Flynn effect and its robustness across different age groups, measures, samples, and levels of performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
Background: Cognitive ability correlates with mortality risk, but confounding from childhood social class has been a persistent concern. While studies controlling for indicators of childhood social status report limited attenuation of coefficients, important parental and family factors are likely to vary substantially within social class. Methods: Norwegian administrative register data with high-quality intelligence scores measured at age 18-19 for the large majority of males in the 1962-1990 birth cohorts (n = 720,261) were used to assess the IQ-mortality gradient using progressively stronger controls for childhood social class in Cox proportional hazard and linear probability models. A family-fixed effects specification avoids confounding from any family or childhood characteristics fixed over time within families (e.g., childhood socio-economic status, parenting style, and neighborhood environment). Results: A large difference in mortality risk is evident across Norwegian males: We find that the mortality risk of the lowest ability bracket, relative to that of the median bracket, is 2.31 (Confidence Interval (CI): 2.12, 2.52, p. <. 0.0005), declining to 0.64 (CI: 0.56, 0.73, p. <. 0.0005) for the highest ability bracket. Estimated differences are similar in linear probability models with and without controls for birth year and parental SES, in Cox models with birth year and parental SES controls, and in a linear probability model with family-fixed effects. Conclusions: The IQ-mortality gradient is not due to confounding from family background or childhood SES. Higher IQ-scores are associated with substantially reduced mortality risk within a modern welfare-state setting, and the relationship was largely stable across a 30-year period.
The United States provides a unique laboratory for understanding how the cultural, institutional, and human capital endowments of immigrant groups shape economic outcomes. In this paper, we use census micro-sample information to reconstruct the country-of-ancestry distribution for US counties from 1850 to 2010. We also develop a county-level measure of GDP per capita over the same period. Using this novel panel data set, we investigate whether changes in the ancestry composition of a county matter for local economic development and the channels through which the cultural, institutional, and educational legacy of the country of origin affects economic outcomes in the US. Our results show that the evolution of the country-of-origin composition of a county matters. Moreover, the culture, institutions, and human capital that the immigrant groups brought with them and pass on to their children are positively associated with local development in the US. Among these factors, measures of culture that capture attitudes towards cooperation play the most important and robust role. Finally, our results suggest that while fractionalization of ancestry groups is positively related with county GDP, fractionalization in attributes such as trust is negatively related to local economic performance.
Data are reported for educational attainments as a measure of intelligence, a number of socio-economic variables, and latitude and longitude for 79 provinces of the Russian Federation. The average intelligence of the provinces was significantly positively correlated with urbanization (r = 0.43), the percentage of ethnic Russians (r = 0.39), net migration (r = 0.54) and latitude (r = 0.35), such that intelligence was higher in the north, and significantly negatively correlated with infant mortality (r = − 0.43), fertility (r = − 0.39) and longitude (r = − 0.36), such that intelligence was higher in the west.
This study reports the associations between the intelligence of children aged 8–10 years across thirty-one provinces and municipalities of the People's Republic of China and their economic and social correlates. It was found that regional IQs were significantly correlated at the p < 0.001 significant level with the percentage of Han in the population (r = 0.75), GDP per capita (r = 0.73), and years of education (r = 0.76). Results of a multiple regression analysis showed that regional IQs were the only significant predictor of regional differences in the GDP per capita accounting for 56% of the variance.
The social ecology of intelligence is concerned with the relation between the mean IQ of populations and a variety of social and economic phenomena. Data are presented for the British Isles, France and Spain. It is shown that there are regional variations in the mean population IQ in all three countries. These mean IQs are closely related to measures of intellectual achievement, income, unemployment and infant mortality. It is proposed that the intelligence didfferences are causal to the social and economic differences. Data are also presented to show that selective migration between regions have been an important factor in bringing about contemporary differences in regional mean IQs.
Cross-regional correlations between average IQ and socio-economic development have been reported for many different countries. This paper analyses data on average IQ and a range of socio-economic variables at the local authority level in the UK. Local authorities are administrative bodies in local government; there are over 400 in the UK, and they contain anywhere from tens of thousands to more than a million people. The paper finds that local authority IQ is positively related to indicators of health, socio-economic status and tertiary industrial activity; and is negatively related to indicators of disability, unemployment and single parenthood. A general socio-economic factor is correlated with local authority IQ at r = .56. This correlation increases to r = .65 when correcting for measurement error in the estimates of IQ.
Regional differences are presented for literacy adopted as a proxy for intelligence, infant mortality, fertility, stature and geographical location for 50 provinces in European Russia in the late nineteenth century. All variables were significantly inter-correlated. Intelligence was significantly higher in the north and west than in the south and east.
Regional differences in IQ are reported for Finland showing that average IQs are highest in the south, containing the capital city of Helsinki. It is proposed that the selective migration of those with higher IQs to Helsinki has been the major factor responsible for the higher average IQ in the south. Regional IQs are positively correlated with the percentage of the population with tertiary education, mean income, and average male and female life expectancy; and negatively with the percentage of the population with average income less than 60% of the national median, the percentage of unemployment, and the rate of infant mortality.
Previous studies have shown that the mean IQ in the Republic of Ireland is 93 in relation to 100 for Britain and the rest of central and northern Europe. New evidence is presented giving an IQ of 88.3 in Ireland and therefore confirming this estimate. It is proposed that the causes of this lower IQ lies principally in the selective emigration of those with higher IQs over the course of several generations, with a smaller contribution from the dysgenic effect of Roman Catholicism.
The relationship between IQ and fertility was examined at the state level within the USA. As predicted, SAT-derived state IQ scores were negatively correlated with three different indicators of state fertility rates. The IQ-fertility relationship remained relatively unchanged when demographic and educational characteristics of the states were controlled for. Limitations and possible causal hypotheses are discussed.
Jencks' (1972) classical study Inequality reported a correlation of 0.310 between IQ and income for men in the United States. The present study examines whether this result can be replicated in Britain. Data are reported for a national sample whose intelligence was obtained at the age of 8 years and whose income was obtained at the age 43 years. The correlations between IQ and income were 0.368 for men (n=1280) and 0.317 for women (n=1085).
IQs are presented for fifteen regions of Spain showing a north-south gradient with IQs highest in the north and lowest in the south. The regional differences in IQ are significantly correlated with educational attainment, per capita income, literacy, employment and life expectancy, and are associated with the percentages of Near Eastern and North African genes in the population.
Cross-regional correlations between average IQ and socioeconomic development have been documented in many different countries. This paper presents new IQ estimates for the twelve regions of the UK. These are weakly correlated (
r
=0.24) with the regional IQs assembled by Lynn (1979). Assuming the two sets of estimates are accurate and comparable, this finding suggests that the relative IQs of different UK regions have changed since the 1950s, most likely due to differentials in the magnitude of the Flynn effect, the selectivity of external migration, the selectivity of internal migration or the strength of the relationship between IQ and fertility. The paper provides evidence for the validity of the regional IQs by showing that IQ estimates for UK nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) derived from the same data are strongly correlated with national PISA scores (
r
=0.99). It finds that regional IQ is positively related to income, longevity and technological accomplishment; and is negatively related to poverty, deprivation and unemployment. A general factor of socioeconomic development is correlated with regional IQ at
r
=0.72.
Historical Understanding of the Problem Natural Selection in Preindustrial Societies The Breakdown of Natural Selection The Genetic Deterioration of Health Intelligence and Fertility Sibling Studies Intelligence and Fertility in the United States Intelligence and Fertility in Europe Resolving the Paradox of the Secular Rise of Intelligence Education and Fertility Socioeconomic Status and Fertility Socioeconomic Status Differences in Intelligence Socioeconomic Status Differences in Conscientiousness The Genetic Basis of Socioeconomic Status Differences in Conscientiousness Dysgenic Fertility for Conscientiousness Dysgenic Fertility in Economically Developing National Counterarguments and Rejoinders.
Data are presented for intelligence in twelve regions in Turkey showing that intelligence is highest in the west and lowest in the east. The west–east intelligence gradient is significantly correlated with regional differences in educational attainment and per capita income and negatively correlated with fertility, infant mortality and the percentage of Kurds.
This study reports the differences in intelligence across thirty-one regions of the People's Republic of China. It was found that regional IQs were significantly associated with the percentage of Han in the population (r = .59), GDP per capita (r = .42), the percentage of those with higher education (r = 38, p<.05), and non-significantly with years of education (r = .32). The results of the multiple regression showed that both the percentage of Han in the region and the GDP per capita were significant predictors of regional IQs, accounting for 39% of the total variance.
Regional differences in cognitive ability are presented for 33 states and union territories of India. Ability was positively correlated with GDP per capita, literacy and life expectancy and negatively correlated with infant and child mortality, fertility and the percentage of Muslims. Ability was higher in the south than in the north and in states with a coast line than with those that were landlocked.
Summary Immigration, immigration policies and education of immigrants alter competence levels. This study analysed their effects using PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS data (1995 to 2012, N=93 nations) for natives' and immigrants' competences, competence gaps and their population proportions. The mean gap is equivalent to 4.71 IQ points. There are large differences across countries in these gaps ranging from around +12 to -10 IQ points. Migrants' proportions grow roughly 4% per decade. The largest immigrant-based 'brain gains' are observed for Arabian oil-based economies, and the largest 'brain losses' for Central Europe. Regarding causes of native-immigrant gaps, language problems do not seem to explain them. However, English-speaking countries show an advantage. Acculturation within one generation and intermarriage usually reduce native-immigrant gaps (≅1 IQ point). National educational quality reduces gaps, especially school enrolment at a young age, the use of tests and school autonomy. A one standard deviation increase in school quality represents a closing of around 1 IQ point in the native-immigrant gap. A new Greenwich IQ estimation based on UK natives' cognitive ability mean is recommended. An analysis of the first adult OECD study PIAAC revealed that larger proportions of immigrants among adults reduce average competence levels and positive Flynn effects. The effects on economic development and suggestions for immigration and educational policy are discussed.
Socioeconomic status and other socio-demographic factors have been associated with selective residential mobility across rural and urban areas, but the role of psychological characteristics in selective migration has been studied less. The current study used 16-year longitudinal data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) to examine whether cognitive ability assessed at age 15–23 predicted subsequent urban/rural migration between ages 15 and 39 (n = 11,481). Higher cognitive ability was associated with selective rural-to-urban migration (12 percentile points higher ability among those moving from rural areas to central cities compared to those staying in rural areas) but also with higher probability of moving away from central cities to suburban and rural areas (4 percentile points higher ability among those moving from central cities to suburban areas compared to those staying in central cities). The mobility patterns associated with cognitive ability were largely but not completely mediated by adult educational attainment and income. The findings suggest that selective migration contributes to differential flow of cognitive ability levels across urban and rural areas in the United States.
This study estimates the effect of dysgenic trends in Taiwan by exploring the relationships among intelligence, education and fertility. Based on a representative adult sample, education and intelligence were negatively correlated with the number of children born. These correlations were stronger for females. The decline of genotypic intelligence was estimated as 0.82 to 1.33 IQ points per generation for the Taiwanese population.