What causes income inequality? The usual answers are economic and sociological. Capitalism systematically generates unequal economic rewards. Social class distinctions create different opportunities in life, leading to unequal economic rewards.
But personal characteristics such as diligence, creativity, and enthusiasm can also affect how much money people earn. In this volume, the author discusses one of the most important of these personal characteristics. intelligence as measured by IQ tests. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, he argues that IQ has an important effect on income independent of family background. He also uses these data to explore a provocative policy question: if somehow we were able to achieve undreamed of success in social policy, eliminating poverty and ensuring that all children were born to intact families, how much would we decrease income inequality in the susequent generations?
Charles Murray is the W.H. Brady Scholar in Culture and Freedom at AEI.
In Making a Killing: The Deadly Implications of the Counterfeit Drug Trade, AEI resident fellow Roger Bate analyzes the burgeoning international trade in counterfeit drugs and recommends steps that governments and law enforcement agencies could take to stop it.
Should Medicare pay for patient expenses the way automobile insurers pay for car-repair bills? In How to Fix Medicare, health economist Roger Feldman argues that a radical shift in Medicare policy is not only possible but imperative.
