Hive Mind : how your nation’s IQ matters so much more than your own / Garett Jones.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jones, Garett, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Intelligence levels--Economic aspects.

Intelligence levels.

Intelligence levels--Political aspects.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvi, 205 pages) : ill.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Stanford, CA : Stanford University Press, 2016

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

FIGURES

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Introduction. THE PARADOX OF IQ

Chapter 1. JUST A TEST SCORE?

Chapter 2. A DA VINCI EFFECT FOR NATIONS

Chapter 3. JAMES FLYNN AND THE QUEST TO RAISE GLOBAL IQ

Chapter 4. WILL THE INTELLIGENT INHERIT THE EARTH?

Chapter 5. SMARTER GROUPS ARE MORE COOPERATIVE

Chapter 6. PATIENCE AND COOPERATION AS INGREDIENTS FOR GOOD POLITICS

Chapter 7. INFORMED VOTERS AND THE QUESTION OF EPISTOCRACY

Chapter 8. THE O-RING THEORY OF TEAMS

Chapter 9. THE ENDLESS QUEST FOR SUBSTITUTES AND THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF IMMIGRATION

Chapter 10. POEM AND CONCLUSION

DATA APPENDIX

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (pages 181-190) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Jul 2020)

ISBN:

9780804797054

0804797056

OCLC:

1178769309