North of England would be second bottom of OECD rankings

If the north of England were a country, it would be second bottom of a league table showing levels of investment in advanced economies, according to a report by a leading thinktank.

Only Greece has lower levels of public and private investment in a ranking of the Organisation for Economic Cooper-operation and Development OECD countries compiled by researchers at IPPR North, the northern branch of the influential Institute for Public Policy Research.

The research, which aims to put the north's situation in an international context, was revealed on Wednesday at the Convention of the North, an annual gathering of political, civic and business leaders in Manchester.

The report's author, Marcus Johns, said that the UK was standing out internationally for all the wrong reasons.

Ours is the most regionally divided of all the advanced economies around the world, and the north is at the end of these divides and that is a barrier to prosperity. Our country is divided by design, and that is even more unacceptable. It is the result of decisions. There are 38 OECD countries with public and private investments, according to the researchers.

Ireland is top followed by South Korea, Turkey and Estonia. The UK is ranked # 35 in the list, followed by Costa Rica 36 Luxembourg 37 and the imagined country of the north of England 38 Greece, still recovering from a sovereign debt crisis and its aftermath.

The report tries to quantify the extent of inequality in the UK. Productivity in the north is about 7 less than in the rest of England, according to it. Hourly pay is 1.60 lower.

The case studies of places across the world that have successfully levelled up showed how they have done it and what lessons can be learned.

They include Leipzig, the fastest growing city in Europe, Bilbao, a regeneration triumph that began with the opening of the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim in 1998, and Ibaraki in Japan, where productivity per worker is 61% higher than in the north of England.

The international evidence shows that levelling up came from governments letting go of power and collaborating positively with places, said Zo Billingham, director of IPPR North. Our leaders have to think big and look beyond our borders for inspiration. Wednesday s convention heard a demand for levelling up to be hardwired into UK law to make sure regions can close gaps in living standards, whether skills, wages or life expectancy.

The call was inspired by Germany, where the constitution guarantees that areas have equivalent living standards and strong political leadership.

Carsten Schneider, the minister for east Germany and equivalent living conditions, will address the convention by video. He said there were good reasons for putting it in the constitution. He said that if regions are drifting apart, it is bad for everyone, including the growing regions. If a variety of regions flourishes, the whole country will prosper. East Germany has seen long-term support and investment since the fall of communism. Cities in eastern Germany are now ahead of cities in the north.

Our own history shows us that the north struggles to get to the top of the government's to-do list whichever political party is in charge. That is why we need to hardwire leveling up into UK law and unlocking the potential of the north to help the whole country thrive.