The debate about geographical inequality in the UK is never far from the headlines.

How big are inequalities in work and pay? Why are there such large gaps? Can the levelling up agenda fix these problems?

    Authors

    Xiaowei Xu
    Xiaowei Xu

    Senior Research Economist

    Xiaowei joined the IFS in 2018 and works in the Income, Work and Welfare sector.

    Explainer details

    DOI
    10.1920/ex.ifs.2024.0074
    Publisher
    IFS

    Suggested citation

    Xu, X. (2022). Levelling up: geographical inequality in the UK explained [Explainer] IFS. Available at: https://ifs.org.uk/articles/levelling-geographical-inequality-uk-explained (accessed: 2 November 2026).

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