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IQ in the Ramsey Model: A Naive Calibration

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Author Info
Garett Jones (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville)

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Abstract

I show that in a conventional Ramsey model, between one-fourth and one- half of income differences across countries can be explained by a single factor: The steady-state effect of large, persistent differences in national average IQ on worker productivity. These differences in cognitive ability--which are well-supported in the psychology literature--are likely to be malleable through better nutrition, better education, and better health care in the world’s poorest countries. A simple calibration exercise in the spirit of Bils and Klenow (2000) and Castro (2005) is conducted. According to the model, a move from the bottom decile of the global IQ distribution to the top decile will cause steady-state living standards to rise by between 75 and 350 percent. We provide evidence that little of IQ-productivity relationship is likely to be due to reverse causality.

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Paper provided by EconWPA in its series Development and Comp Systems with number 0507004.

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Length: 35 pages
Date of creation: 11 Jul 2005
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Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpdc:0507004

Note: Type of Document - pdf; pages: 35
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Related research
Keywords: Economic Growth; Intelligence; IQ; Ramsey.;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
O41 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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References listed on IDEAS
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    Other versions:
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    Other versions:
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    Other versions:
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  13. Rui Castro, 2005. "Economic Development and Growth in the World Economy," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 8(1), pages 195-230, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. Weede, Erich & Kampf, Sebastian, 2002. "The Impact of Intelligence and Institutional Improvements on Economic Growth," Kyklos, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 55(3), pages 361-80.
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  17. Bishop, John Hillman, 1989. "Is the Test Score Decline Responsible for the Productivity Growth Decline?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(1), pages 178-97, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Garett Jones & W. Joel Schneider, 2005. "Intelligence, Human Capital, and Economic Growth: A Bayesian Averaging of Classical Estimates (BACE) Approach," Development and Comp Systems 0507005, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
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