OECD says gap in living standards is widening between rich and poor regions. - Differences in living standards are growing in several economically advanced countries, within which the poorest regions are struggling to catch up with the rest, according to the OECD Regional Outlook 2014, published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The new research found that half of the 34 OECD countries have seen the income gap between their best-off and worst-off regions widen since the 2008 crisis. Additionally, the Outlook shows that, in 10 OECD countries, over 40% of the national rise in unemployment since the crisis was concentrated in one region. Some of the starkest inequalities show up in the big cities. The OECD recommends better management of urban areas, where two in three people live, as a way to improve prosperity and reduce inequality. “The regional convergence engine has stalled since the crisis. National standards of well-being are not felt equally by people living in different regions”, said OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría, adding: “Smarter public investment, especially in cities, and reforms of outdated local government structures would help to address this”. A second OECD report, How's Life in Your Region?, reveals big differences in overall well-being among 362 regions within OECD countries by examining areas ranging from air quality and life expectancy to per capita income, employment and internet access. It shows that: - Spain and Italy show the widest regional disparities for unemployment and the Netherlands shows the least. Youth unemployment varies most in Italy. - Regional inequality in household income is lowest in Austria and highest in Australia. - Regional differences in life expectancy have grown in 18 of the 30 countries since 2000. The number of years a person can expect to live in Portugal varies by almost four years from one region to another. In Greece, the variation is only 11 months. - South-East England is in the top 20% of OECD regions for jobs, whereas North-East England is in the bottom 30%. - France's Lower Normandy region is among the safest 20% of OECD regions, while Corsica is in the bottom 10%. - More than 40% of US regions have a quarter of their populations at risk of falling in to poverty versus less than a tenth of regions in comparable European economies. (IL)