WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- The United States may still be the world's biggest economy but it performs poorly in social justice, according to a report released here Thursday.
The U.S. ranks near the bottom in six key categories that contribute to a socially responsible market economy, according to a study that examines 31 Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations conducted by the Bertelsmann Foundation.
Overall, the United States ranked 27th, ahead of only Greece, Chile, Mexico and Turkey, noted the report, "Social Justice in the OECD - How Do the Member States Compare?". The findings are based on factors such as poverty prevention, access to education, labor market inclusion, social cohesion and non-discrimination, health, and inter-generational justice.
In the individual categories, the United States showed especially large deficits in poverty prevention (ranking 29th), health (ranking 23rd) and access to education (ranking 20th).
"Approximately one in six Americans currently lives under the poverty line, and educational opportunities depend heavily on social and economic background," Bertelsmann Foundation board member Aart de Geus said.
The growing gap between rich and poor is a problem across all OECD economies, but income distribution in the United States is among the most unequal of all countries examined in the study. Northern European countries led the study in overall rankings.
