It will be seen that the dot marked UK is well to the right of the graph, because the UK level of income inequality is high. It is also well up on the graph showing that the our social problems are relatively serious. The line is a regression line measuring its angle. Apart from the USA, on this graph most points are quite close to the regression line.

Though progress can be made in other ways to deal with problems connected to these issues, income inequalty remains a major underlying factor.

The book "The Spirit Level" gives information about the source of the data used. It also discusses the possible causes and effects and the reasons for the correlations. For those interested, the results are also given in mathematical terms.

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