Genetics & Educational Attainment: A Current Perspective

Genetics and the social sciences have a troubled history. However, within the last decade, techniques have been developed for the measurement and utilization of individual genetic profiles. The advent of these techniques, as well as the increasing salience of genetic information across many areas of society, offers an opportunity for revisiting and revising old ideas of how genetics are related to educational attainment. To that end, I discuss recent results from genetically informed studies focusing on educational attainment. I also discuss preliminary results from new research, including evidence about the changing influence of genetics over recent US history.

Speaker: Ben Domingue, Stanford