Abstract
Relatively little is known about the persistence or otherwise of geographical gradients in levels of living, even though the eradication of inter-and intra-regional disparities has been a major objective of the ‘welfare state’ created in the United Kingdom after the Second World War. Using a series of well-established territorial social indicators, this paper describes the relative change in levels of living in the United Kingdom by local authority areas between 1951 and 1971. A typology of change derived from the results of a linear regression analysis is presented. It is shown that the overall intensity of spatial inequality has changed very little over the period. At the same time, however, the relative position of some areas has deteriorated significantly, while that of others has significantly improved.
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Knox, P.L. Regional inequality and the welfare state: Convergence and divergence in levels of living in the United Kingdom, 1951–1971. Soc Indic Res 10, 319–335 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00301098
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00301098