Income per Capita, Health and Cross Country IQ: An International Comparison

Recently, for the first time, international data on IQ scores across countries have become available. The new data opens up the exciting possibility of using cross country analysis to study IQ and its determinants. One important potential determinant of IQ is income inequality. The purpose of this paper is to use cross country regression analysis to see whether or not differences in income inequality matter with regard to IQ scores across countries. If greater country income inequality reduces country IQ, then it is possible that well designed policies aimed at achieving greater equity in the distribution of income, a policy highly desirable in and of itself, may also, by augmenting country IQ, have the added beneficial effect of enhancing a country’s creativity and economic growth.Economic Development, Growth, Inequality, Distribution of Income, IQ