From childhood to university, economic inequality shapes life chances worldwide Independent studies by the agencies paint a picture of widening disparities that begin in childhood and continue into higher education, despite decades of global progress in school and university enrolment. An unequal report card Examining the relationship between economic inequality and children’s wellbeing in 44 OECD and high-income countries, the UNICEF report found that rates of income inequality and child poverty remain stubbornly high in most countries. Children growing up in wealthier but more unequal countries face worse physical health and poorer educational outcomes, the report warns. Across the countries surveyed, households in the top 20 per cent of earners bring home more than five times the income of those in the bottom 20 per cent. “Inequality profoundly affects how children learn, what they eat, and how they feel about life,” said Bo Viktor Nylund, Director of UNICEF Innocenti centre.…