Thanks for your feedback, Robert. I thought about the cost of living, although that variable is a bit slippery. In the countries where cost of living is higher, income is much higher, larger enough to compensate for higher costs. But maybe you are right, perceptions of cost matter more than having the income to pay those costs...?
Arable land per capita is definitely an important variable in quality of life, but it does not correlate well with fertility. The countries with the highest arable land per capita are Kazakhstan, Australia, Canada, Argentina, and Russia. Only Kazakhstan's fertility is above replacement, at 2.95. Their average IQ is 94. Maybe Muslim countries have higher fertility for religious reasons...?
The only safe conclusion I would make is the educational systems are probably better, but I do not know if IQ is affected by the broader genetic environmental factors.
Good analysis, thank you for sharing.
“Your theory may be the correct one, and I would love to hear it!”
Some theories that come to mind:
Cost of living index?
Cost of raising a child to adulthood?
Arable land/population ratio?
Anything that relates to economic (cost of living) or first world ideals (me/myspace) is likely correlated.
Thanks for your feedback, Robert. I thought about the cost of living, although that variable is a bit slippery. In the countries where cost of living is higher, income is much higher, larger enough to compensate for higher costs. But maybe you are right, perceptions of cost matter more than having the income to pay those costs...?
Arable land per capita is definitely an important variable in quality of life, but it does not correlate well with fertility. The countries with the highest arable land per capita are Kazakhstan, Australia, Canada, Argentina, and Russia. Only Kazakhstan's fertility is above replacement, at 2.95. Their average IQ is 94. Maybe Muslim countries have higher fertility for religious reasons...?
The only safe conclusion I would make is the educational systems are probably better, but I do not know if IQ is affected by the broader genetic environmental factors.