The Relationship Between Mathematical Performance and GDP per Capita

Abstract

It is a commonly held belief that a country’s scholastic performance in STEM related subjects is indicative of a country’s future economic standing. This paper is intended to present a quantitative analysis on the subject matter, testing our hypothesis that there is indeed a positive correlation between academic performance in STEM subjects and a country’s economic strength. The PISA 2012 math scores and GDP per Capita were chosen as indicators of academic performance and economic strength respectively. Other indicators such as Literacy Rate and Educational Spending (indicators that are commonly associated with economic standing), are also included in the analysis. The findings from our study confirm our hypothesis and suggest that there is a positive correlation between academic performance in STEM subjects (in particular math) and economic strength.