Israel has the highest poverty level in the western world, with one in four Israelis below the poverty line, local daily The Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday on its website, citing an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report.
According to the findings released Tuesday, poverty in Israel is 2.5 times the average in the developed world.
The OECD report also stated that Israel's socioeconomic divide was the third highest, below Turkey and Mexico, and Israel was criticized by OECD for the failure of its fiscal policies to bridge the gap between the rich and poor.
On the whole, the OECD report found that economic growth of the recent decades has benefited the rich more than the poor. In some countries, such as Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway and the United States, the gap also increased between the rich and the middle-class.
Launching the report in Paris, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said, "Growing inequality is divisive. It polarizes societies, it divides regions within countries, and it carves up the world between rich and poor."
Greater income inequality stifles upward mobility between generations, making it harder for talented and hardworking people to get the rewards they deserve, added Gurria, noting that ignoring increasing inequality is not an option.
Source:Xinhua
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