a critique of Lynn/Vanhanen

Dear all,

last year, there has been a short debate on wsn on the book by Richard Lynn 
and Tatu Vanhanen: IQ and the Wealth of Nations, Westport, CT: Praeger 
(2002).

In the last vol. of the European Sociological Review, a colleague of mine 
from the University of Zurich’s Sociological Institute has published an 
excellent critique of the book:

Thomas Volken , IQ and the Wealth of Nations. A Critique of Richard Lynn and 
Tatu Vanhanen's Recent Book, in: European Sociological Review, 2003, 19: 
411-412.

Abstract: “Recently Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen have presented evidence 
that differences in national IQ account for the substantial variation in 
national per capita income and growth. This article challenges these 
findings and claims that, on the one hand, they simply reflect inappropriate 
use and interpretations of statistical instruments. On the other hand, it is 
argued that the models presented by Lynn/Vanhanen are under-complex and 
inadequately specified. More precisely the authors confuse IQ with human 
capital. The paper concludes that once control variables are introduced and 
the models are adequately specified, neither an impact of IQ on income nor 
on growth can be substantiated.”

A long version of the paper can be found - from the end of this week on - on 
the author’s website: http://www.suz.unizh.ch/volken/.

Yours,

Patrick Ziltener

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