The contribution of formal schooling to the increase in intellectual capital

Substantial IQ gains from one generation to the next have been recorded for men in many industrial societies since the 1950s. Some authors have attempted to argue away these results by claiming that intelligence tests do not measure general IQ but rather something with a weak causal link to IQ. Others have taken the evidence emerging from, for example, The Netherlands as showing that the massive increase in the nation's intellectual capital is accounted for by environmental factors, not the least of which is formal schooling. By using the Linear Structural Relations (LISREL) method and longitudinal data collected in Sweden for a male cohort, the influences of home background and formal schooling on adult IQ test scores are estimated. This study shows the importance of formal schooling in enhancing the intellectual capital of a nation. The implications for educational policy and practice are discussed.