Final Score: Singapore 103 Jamaica 72

Image SourceIQ score, that is. An average difference of 31 IQ points between residents of Singapore and residents of Jamaica. A difference of two full standard deviations. So. When comparing the economic output of Jamaicans with Singaporians, you might expect that the IQ difference would play a role. You might if you were intelligent yourself. But if you were a journalist constrained by mainstream rules of political correctness, you might be smarter to play dumb. (via OneSTDV)

.....we can contrast Jamaica and Singapore. Both are relatively tiny states, with under 5 million residents apiece. Upon Singapore’s independence in 1965—three years after Jamaica’s own establishment as a nation—the two nations were about equal in wealth: the gross domestic product (in 2006 U.S. dollars) was $2,850 per person in Jamaica, slightly higher than Singapore’s $2,650. Both nations had a centrally located port, a tradition of British colonial rule, and governments with a strong capitalist orientation. (Jamaica, in addition, had plentiful natural resources and a robust tourist industry.) But four decades later, their standing was dramatically different: Singapore had climbed to a per capita GDP of $31,400 (2006 data, in current dollars), while Jamaica’s figure was only $4,800.

What accounts for the amazing difference in growth rates? _Jamaica vs. Singapore_via OneSTDV

The article makes some good points about the importance of enlightened governmental economic policy toward private enterprise and entrepreneurial activity. That is certainly a factor, but since the per capita GDP of Singapore is 6 times the per capita GDP of Jamaica, it is likely that more than one explanation can fit the data.

When looking at IQ vs the wealth of nations, it becomes clear that the average population IQ of a nation can be an important co-determinant of national economic output. Starting at an IQ of 70, every 10 point rise in average IQ might add as much as or more than $10,000 to a nations' per capita GDP -- assuming a relatively business-friendly government.

A high IQ country can lose its high per capita GDP by letting its average population IQ drop.  Consider immigration:

While the vast majority of young adult children of immigrants experience upward economic and social mobility, a new study finds that a significant minority are suffering from lower levels of education, lower incomes, higher birth rates and higher levels of incarceration. Furthermore, it is the U.S.-born children of Mexican, Haitian and West Indian immigrants who experience these problems in the largest proportions.


The study, led by sociologists Rubén G. Rumbaut of UC Irvine and Alejandro Portes of Princeton University, appears online this week in the Migration Information Source. The largest and longest-running study of children of immigrants yet conducted....


Differences in arrest and incarceration rates are also noteworthy, particularly among second-generation, U.S.-born, males. While only 10 percent of second-generation immigrant males in the survey had been incarcerated, that figure jumped to 20 percent among West Indian and Mexican American youths. _Eurekalert_via_HBDBooks

If a country encourages immigration of low IQ populations with high fertility rates -- particularly when the higher IQ native population has very low fertility rates -- the overall population average IQ will tend to decrease. Poverty, crime, and civil turmoil tend to increase.

Political correctness is the opiate of the masses, in this situation. Just pretend the problem does not exist. The problem will not go away, of course. It will certainly grow worse. But at least you can feel self-righteous on the way down.