IQ and the Wealth of States

Since the book IQ and the Wealth of Nations published, it has raised an interesting issue regarding nation building. Most politicians and economists have left out IQ factor in their analysis and prediction of nations economical development consciously or unconsciously. People's smartness certainly will have impact on wealth at personal and national level.

However, we should bare in mind that wealth is not a direct measurement of person's smartness. What is wealth? Wealth is a measurement of material possession of a person or nation. Many factors are contributing to the wealth of nation or individual. The factors include natural resource, geographic location, personality, personal philosophy of life, IQ (smartness), non-intellectual talents, and many other more. A talented athlete can make enomous wealth with his athlete talent even though he might not smart. A criminal predator can robe others to achieve his wealth with his criminal morality, aggressiveness and fool-hardiness. A very intelligent professor or PhD might not make money more than a not so smart Taxi driver.

This IQ and wealth of states in America is very interesting. The correlation between GDP per capita and IQ is +0.92. Though authenticity of these data is in question, concentration of Ivy league schools in New England would make sense about possilbe higher IQ in those regions. We all know North and North-East parts of America are strong basis for left-wing or liberal political basis.

Is there any correlation between high IQ and liberal politics? Why are most intellectuals are liberal or left-wing in politics? Most incarcerated criminal are right-wing republicans in America according to movie The Life of David Gale

Such phenomena deserve further analysis.