Addressing social inequality. What Scotland can learn

Across the world, we are seeing rising levels of inequality in the face of evidence that this is bad not only for social cohesion but even for economic growth. Yet governments struggle to tackle it effectively, whether it is called anti-deprivation, social inclusion, levelling up or other labels.

It remains one of those intractable ‘wicked issues’ that seem to defy remedy. Much of the work on inequality has focused on global forces and the challenges to the national welfare state. Yet sub-state governments have been active across Europe in forging strategies for social inclusion and combatting inequalities.

In two new books, Public Policy to Reduce Inequalities (Cairney, Keating, Kippin, St. Denny) and The Politics of Health Promotion in the European Union (Godziewski), Paul Cairney, Michael Keating, Sean Kippin, Emily St. Denny and Charlotte Godziewski assess the experience of tackling inequalities at new spatial levels, putting Scotland into a comparative perspective and asking what can be learnt.