IQ and The Wealth of Nations

IQ and the Wealth of Nations is a 2002 book by Dr. Richard Lynn, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, and Dr. Tatu Vanhanen, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland. The book argues that differences in national income (in the form of per capita gross domestic product) are correlated with differences in the average national intelligence quotient (IQ). The authors further argue that differences in average national IQs constitute one important factor, but not the only one, contributing to differences in national wealth and rates of economic growth. Critical responses have included questioning of the methodology and of the incompleteness of the data, as well as of the conclusions. The 2006 book IQ and Global Inequality is a follow-up to IQ and the Wealth of Nations by the same authors. Several other data-sets of estimated average national cognitive ability exist, as explained in nations and intelligence.