The gap between Britain’s poorest regions (mainly in the north and Wales) and its richest (in the south-east) has widened for the past 20 years.

在英国，最落后地区（主要是北方及威尔士）与最发达地区（也就是东南部）的差距在过去的20年中不断扩大，在最近一次经济危机中情况继续恶化。

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In Italy, too, the gap between Italy's wealthy north and the lagging Mezzogiorno in the south has also narrowed over time, thanks in part to large fiscal transfers.

同样，在意大利，富庶的北部地区与落后的南方地区之间的差距也在减少，这与财政的大力支持密不可分。

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"Today's announcement isn't just about faster trains - high-speed rail will create up to 30, 000 station-supported jobs in Manchester and help to drive productivity in the region, bridging the economic gap between the North and the South, " he said.

BBC: HS2 to enter Manchester via tunnel under city

The gap between north and south in income per head may have narrowed a little, but the south is still about a third poorer.

ECONOMIST: Bad habits die hard

Such globalisation has already narrowed the overall gap between North and South.

ECONOMIST: The Johannesburg summit