The Wealth Gene: why 10% are rich while 90% are poor (CDR Innovation Economic Growth Model)

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by Dr. Dennis Ridley

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We know from the companion books “The Mystery of Wealth” and “Collaboration trumps IQ” that economic growth is determined by the policy variables capitalism, democracy, rule of law (CDR) model. When natural resources and geography are added to the model, it explains approximately 90% of real per capita gross domestic product adjusted for purchasing power parity (GDPppp-international dollars). It is most impressive how few variables are required for explaining GDPppp. This is in keeping with Einstein (1879-1955) and the parsimonious principle of Occam’s Razor. These place growth economics on a sound scientific footing. The question remaining is how does a country raise its CDR in order to raise its GDPppp? This book shows that collaboration is essential for rule of law that attracts capital and protects democracy that deploys capital optimally to produce GDPppp and contribute to wealth. We show that there is a gene for collaboration and refer to it as The Wealth Gene. If the gene is turned off due to ancestral environmental stresses such as forced labor, excessive discrimination, and exposure to dangerous chemicals, it may result in a negative epigenetic transgenerational psycho sequela. A loss of collaboration skill and wealth might continue for generations, indefinitely. Gene therapy may serve to recover collaboration skills and end poverty. Our objective is to further explain and motivate entrepreneurship. It is a commonly held belief that the source of wealth is natural resources. One only has to travel around the world to see that the countries with the greatest natural resources are the poorest. To benefit from natural resources a country must have access to human beings with cerebral knowledge of the natural sciences. These include physics, chemistry, etc., and their extensions to applied science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The true source of wealth is exogenous human capital ideas of imagination and creativity. See also Simon (1981), Ridley (2010). Figures 1a,1b,1c depict the healthy system of capitalism that occurs in the United States of America (USA). Entrepreneurship is the process of starting a business, typically a startup company offering an innovative product, process, or service. See also Foss & Klein (2013). Entrepreneurs collaborate to convert their exogenous human capital ideas of creativity and imagination into endogenous capital stock of knowledge, machinery, computers, program code, recording, etc. This endogenous capital is deployed democratically to produce gross domestic product of goods and services. After subtracting depreciation, obsolescence, and consumption, we are left with contribution to wealth. In this way, capitalism organizes capital for investment in industry. However, it is necessary to transport raw materials to manufacturers and products and services to the places where they are consumed. And the consumer must be transported to the places where they can make purchases. Both parties pay taxes to a third party to provide roads, bridges, canals, airports, and seaports, etc. Industry requires educated and healthy people. Taxes are also used to build schools and hospitals. They are also needed to provide clean air and water, police, and courts to ensure justice, the common defense, etc. These are all parts of the capitalist system that creates economic growth, development, and a high standard of living. The optimal tax rate that maximizes GDP was calculated to be 21% by Ridley (2022b) and Ridley & Davison (2022). Laffer, et. al. (2008, 2010, 2014) argue that it is possible that reducing taxes from a high level can increase tax revenues. But Laffer did not derive the optimal rate.

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