Two Italies? Genes, intelligence and the Italian North–South economic divide

•The link between average IQ and regional development in Italy is analysed.•Data for school achievements are used to measure average IQ.•Historical data do not support an IQ-development link.•Regional differences in IQs are explained by socio-economic variables.

The thesis that socio-economic disparities between Southern and Northern Italian regions are explained by genetic differences in the average IQ is examined (Lynn, 2010a, 2012). Historical data on income, infant mortality and life expectancy, offer scant support to a possible nexus between IQ differences and socio-economic development. The ancient history of Southern Italy is also inconsistent with a supposed Phoenician and Arab adverse genetic impact on the average IQ of Southern populations. The paper proposes that regional IQ differences reflect North–South disparities in education and socio-economic development levels. The significant increases in mean scholastic achievement tests, registered in the Italian South in the period 2003–2012, support this conclusion.