IQ, cultural values, and the technological achievement of nations

It is shown that the technological capabilities of a nation are related to national IQ. Nations with a higher percentage of high-IQ individuals generate more technological knowledge (as measured by patents granted per head of population) than other nations. Technological achievement is also shown to mediate the relationship between national IQ and per-capita GDP, suggesting that high-IQ nations are wealthier partly because they are more successful at generating technological knowledge. Additional variance in technological achievement, beyond that explained by IQ, is accounted for by cultural values; nations that value intellectual autonomy and social equality produce more technological knowledge. Intellectual autonomy was also found to moderate the relationship between technological achievement and national IQ, suggesting that technological progress is enhanced where high-IQ individuals live in an intellectually open environment.