Intelligence and corruption: An empirical investigation in a non-linear framework

•We examine the effect of intelligence on corruption.•Both parametric and semiparametric approaches are applied.•We find evidence in support of an inverted U-shaped relationship between IQ and corruption.•Our findings shed new light on the intelligence-corruption nexus.

This article investigates the impact of intelligence on corruption in a panel of 171 countries and regions during 2007-2011 by using parametric and semiparametric regression approaches. Prior research has considered only the linear effects of intelligence on corruption. We examine the relationship between intelligence and corruption in a non-linear framework after controlling for economic and non-economic factors. Our results provide strong evidence in support of an inverted U-shaped relationship between intelligence and corruption, which shed new light on the intelligence-corruption nexus. This finding is robust to various estimation techniques and alternatives measures of corruption and intelligence. From a policy perspective, our results suggest that countries over the suggested threshold level of cognitive abilities are encouraged to invest in education and human skills to reap the benefits of lower corruption levels.