Not just a North–South divide: the geography of opportunity in England

Abstract The United Kingdom is one of the most spatially unequal countries in the OECD. This paper investigates how the link between opportunity and childhood background varies across England. We use administrative data linking education records and labour market outcomes to study how the socio‐economic conditions in the residential neighbourhood where one grows up are associated with earnings in adulthood. We find that the strength of this relationship varies sharply across England and that there are large differences in earnings of those who grew up in equally poor neighbourhoods in different parts of the country. While the North–South divide is evident, we also find significant variation within regions. A group that stands out is young women and men who grew up in poor neighbourhoods of regional cities (large cities outside of London) whose earnings are significantly lower than those of counterparts outside the cities. Two themes run through our analysis: substantial gender differences in key trends, and the fact that greater equality of opportunity within a place does not always translate into better outcomes for the disadvantaged. Key policy implications include the need to consider highly localised inequalities, gender differences, and whether greater equality is achieved through better opportunities for the disadvantaged.