Intelligence and corruption

Abstract

This study finds that countries with high-IQ populations enjoy less corruption. I propose that this is because intelligent people have longer time horizons.

Why are cognitive abilities of children so different across countries? The link between major socioeconomic factors and PISA test scores

“…Because of this, a high correlation (r > .90) reported between IQ and scholastic achievement scores has been interpreted to mean that these two variables may be measures of the same construct (Lynn, Meisenberg, Mikk, & Williams, 2007;Rindermann, 2007). However, in the current study, we suggest that employing PISA test scores is more relevant than national average IQ (e.g., Lynn & Vanhanen, 2002, 2012 because the test scores are obtained during a specific year for each country. This is essential to understand the effects of socioeconomic variables on children's cognitive ability during specific periods.…”

“…Previous studies have established that cognitive ability is significantly associated -at both individual and country levels-with socioeconomic indicators such as corruption, somatic health, income and productivity data, and self-employment rates among immigrants (Kuncel, Rose, Ejiogu, & Yang, 2014;Lynn & Vanhanen, 2012;Potrafke, 2012;Ram, 2007;Sörberg, Allebeck, & Hemmingsson, 2014;Vinogradov & Kolvereid, 2010). For instance, For instance, Lynn and Vanhanen (2012, pp.…”

More politicians, more corruption: evidence from Swedish municipalities

“…The results presented in this paper add to the extensive literature on the determinants of corruption (Treisman 2000(Treisman , 2007Andvig and Fjeldstad 2001;Montinola and Jackman 2002;Lambsdorff 2006;Pellegrini and Gerlagh 2008;Fan et al 2009;Goel and Nelson 2011a, b;Potrafke 2012). Treisman (2007, p. 211) summarizes that ''quite strong evidence suggests that highly developed, long-established liberal democracies, with a free and widely read press, a high share of women in government, and a history of openness to trade, are perceived as less corrupt.''…”

Government size, intelligence and life satisfaction

“…One possible reason for this may be that, in countries with a larger state sector and greater cognitive capital, public policies are more in consonance with peoples' preferences, thus, leading in increase in life satisfaction. As a result, in high-IQ nations, state institutions are more efficient; bureaucrats do not engage in informal and corrupt activities (Potrafke, 2012;Salahodjaev, 2015); the optimal government size infers that the ruling elite are constrained from engaging in activities that impair life satisfaction of population and increase efficiency of bureaucrats. In sum, our results offer new insight into the relationship between politics, psychology and wellbeing and provide for the first steps in cross-disciplinary dialogue between social science and psychology.…”

“…For example, ample studies show that higher-IQ nations are associated with efficient bureaucracies and lower levels of corruption (Potrafke, 2012), while other scholars confirm the significant associations between these variables and SWB. It is therefore possible that the impact of bureaucracy on citizens' wellbeing varies with nations' levels of cognitive ability.…”