Over the last few decades, economists and psychologists have
quietly documented the many ways in which a person's IQ matters.
But, research suggests that a nation's IQ matters so much more. As
Garett Jones argues in Hive Mind, modest differences in national IQ
can explain most cross-country inequalities. Whereas IQ scores do a
moderately good job of predicting individual wages, information
processing power, and brain size, a country's average score is a
much stronger bellwether of its overall prosperity. Drawing on an
expansive array of research from psychology, economics, management,
and political science, Jones argues that intelligence and cognitive
skill are significantly more important on a national level than on
an individual one because they have "positive spillovers." On
average, people who do better on standardized tests are more
patient, more cooperative, and have better memories. As a result,
these qualities-and others necessary to take on the complexity of a
modern economy-become more prevalent in a society as national test
scores rise. What's more, when we are surrounded by slightly more
patient, informed, and cooperative neighbors we take on these
qualities a bit more ourselves. In other words, the worker bees in
every nation create a "hive mind" with a power all its own. Once
the hive is established, each individual has only a tiny impact on
his or her own life. Jones makes the case that, through better
nutrition and schooling, we can raise IQ, thereby fostering higher
savings rates, more productive teams, and more effective
bureaucracies. After demonstrating how test scores that matter
little for individuals can mean a world of difference for nations,
the book leaves readers with policy-oriented conclusions and
hopeful speculation: Whether we lift up the bottom through changing
the nature of work, institutional improvements, or freer
immigration, it is possible that this period of massive global
inequality will be a short season by the standards of human history
if we raise our global IQ.
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