ABSTRACT
In comparing the present situation with pre-war, one must distinguish between the effects of the regional measures and of the change in the aggregate level of economic activity in the economy as a whole. Regional statistics are still far from adequate and it is therefore impossible to do as detailed an assessment as one would wish, but it is possible to see whether regional disparities have increased or diminished. Unemployment is the traditional yardstick for measuring the severity of the regional problem. So long as employment opportunities exist in some part of the country migration will tend to prevent regional unemployment from rising to intolerable levels. Unemployment and migration are, of course, only symptoms of an inadequate rate of regional economic growth. Another measure of regional disparity may be obtained from the Inland Revenue figures for personal income. From the mid-1950s up to 1960, therefore, regional disparities increased and the problem re-emerged.
