The research by a Swedish team said that people with superior intelligence would enjoy higher wages, only to a certain extent. Image used for representational purposes/Pixabay
You may be the smartest worker in your organisation and working really hard. But that doesn’t mean you would be the top earner of the firm. Why, you may ask? A study in Sweden has some answers to this question.
A Swedish study
It has often been said that it pays to be smart. Academics have also explained that individuals with superior intelligence would enjoy extremely successful careers.
However, a study published in the European Sociological Review in January found that this is true only to a certain extent. The research led by Marc Keuschnigg, a senior associate professor for analytical sociology at Linkoping University in Sweden found that beyond the income of $57,300 (Rs 47.37 lakh) a year, the ability plateaus as wages continue to rise. And earners in the top one per cent score slightly worse than those in the income tier directly below them.
Higher general intelligence is correlated to higher wages, but only up to a threshold of about 600,000 Swedish krona (Rs 47.37 lakh) a year
They summarised that “past a certain wage threshold, having a higher wage is no longer telling of cognitive ability”. They wrote in their study, “We find no evidence that those with top jobs that pay extraordinary wages are more deserving than those who earn only half those wages.”
The authors added that “extreme occupational success is more likely driven by family resources or luck than by ability”. The research stated that those with elite family backgrounds are instrumental in gaining access to the most privileged and best-paying jobs.
The research also pointed out that the most intelligent wouldn’t be the most paid worker because often they lack emotional intelligence. Advancing in one’s career often requires being liked by your co-workers and superiors just as much as excelling at your job.
But, how did they come up with their findings? The study analysed the cognitive ability of over 59,000 men between the age of 18 or 19 and their earnings during an 11-year window between the ages of 35 and 45. The research was based on a standardised intelligence test the men took as part of compulsory military service, which included tests of verbal understanding, technical comprehension, spatial ability and logic.
Women and immigrants were not included in the study because military service was not mandatory for those groups between 1971-77 and 1980-99, when the initial data was recorded.
Another reason why the smartest may not be receiving the highest pay also has to do with the nature of the job chosen. For instance, it is often seen that the most intelligent individuals will opt for jobs in academia and research, which isn’t a high-paying job.
Furthermore, people with the highest cognitive abilities, who already tend to earn well-paying salaries, might reason that they don’t need to work harder for more money, especially if the added effort comes at the expense of time spent with friends and family or undertaking enjoyable hobbies.
A concern for the world
The research states that this finding should worry individuals across the world and is a warning sign about growing income inequality between the wealthiest and the rest of society.
Also, those with the most prestigious jobs wield the greatest economic and political power, and the intelligence of their decisions is consequential.
This is an unrefuted fact. A recent Brookings Institute research showed that there are 2,755 billionaires in the world today, with an estimated wealth of $13.2 trillion. Even just one per cent of this wealth would yield a flow of $130 billion per year — enough to eradicate extreme poverty for all the 708 million people in the world living below the international threshold of $1.90 per person per day.
Billionaires wield great political power. How? Sample this: If a billionaire believes in pro-life choices, he or she would back a candidate with similar thinking, pushing for their win by providing more financial support. In turn, when the candidate wins, they would push for pro-life policies.
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Surveys and other studies have shown that the policy is biased toward the rich. This is also because they are more prone to reach out to public officials and hence, their voices are better heard.
The evidence clearly shows that the richer the person, the more ability he/she wields in global politics. In such a situation, one would like to believe that the smarter ones are the richest. But, the recent Swedish study proves otherwise and hence, a cause for concern.
With inputs from agencies
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