(16 June 2016) – Income inequality is worsening within many countries, and regional disparities in housing, safety and air quality inside countries are also growing wider in many cases, according to a new OECD report.
OECD Regions at a Glance 2016 finds most countries are closing the gap between regions in education and Internet access, but disparities in GDP per head, disposable income, safety and air pollution are widening in many.
The disposable income per capita gap between the richest and poorest parts of OECD countries grew 1.5% a year on average over 2000-13, with the biggest increases in the Slovak Republic, Australia, Czech Republic and Canada.
The report, which examines local-level indicators in over 40 countries, shows many regions are struggling to increase the productivity of firms and people and restore employment.
Italy, Spain and Turkey all show a 20 percentage point gap between highest and lowest regional unemployment rates, the same difference as between the national unemployment rates of Greece and Norway.