Effe dimmen met die liberalisering Deel 2

OECD study links countries' child mortality rate with level of inequality.

DEATH RATES, Ten worst states in the OECD for mortality in children under five

• FRANCE 5.5 (deaths per 1,000)
• NETHERLANDS 5.50
• PORTUGAL 5.50
• SWITZERLAND 5.50
• AUSTRALIA 6.00
• IRELAND 6.00
• NEW ZEALAND 6.00
• CANADA 6.50
• UNITED KINGDOM 6.50
• UNITED STATES 8.00

The results show that the child mortality rate, based on the number of children dying before the age of five per 1,000 live births averaged over a four-year period, was below five in the top six countries - Sweden at 3.25, followed by Iceland (3.75) Norway (4.00) Denmark (4.25) Japan (4.50) and Finland (4.75). The bottom six were New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland (all 6.0), UK and Canada (6.5) and the US (8.0).

The researchers also calculated income inequality in each country by comparing the income share of the top 20 per cent with that of the bottom 40 per cent. The ratio was lowest in Luxembourg, Japan, Finland and Norway, where the income of the top earners 20 per cent was only 1.5 times greater than the bottom 40 per cent. But the ratio was 2.5 in the UK and 2.8 in the US."There is a very strong association between income inequality and under-five child mortality among the wealthier OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] countries,'' said the report.

David Collison, who led the study, said: "All the Anglo-American countries do pretty badly. It is clear that inequality is linked to the poor position of the UK and elsewhere."

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little" Franklin Roosevelt