Income inequality holds back growth, says OECD. - A recent OECD study calls for income inequality to be reduced, in order to give a shot in the arm to economic growth. The OECD experts argue that economic growth grows faster in countries in which income inequality is falling than in those where income inequality is on the rise. Inequality mainly acts on growth by limiting education opportunities for children from modest socio-economic backgrounds as well as social mobility and the development of skills, they explain. The increasing inequality gap has cost Mexico and New Zealand more than 10 points of growth over the last 20 years, and the United States, Italy and the United Kingdom between six and nine. The same phenomenon can be observed in Finland, Norway and Sweden, although the inequality levels are less pronounced. Conversely, greater equality helped increase GDP per capita in Spain, France and Ireland prior to the crisis. (IL)