According to Eurostat, at 25 years of age the residual life expectancy of a male Italian senior high school or university graduate is 58 years, compared with 53 for those with only compulsory schooling (for women, 62 and 59 respectively); at 65 years of age, the gap in life expectancy is reduced but not eliminated, still amounting to two years for men and one year for women.
Second, there is a need for more exchange rate flexibility. This is particularly the case for China, but also more broadly across Southeast Asia. China continues to resist exchange rate flexibility, and thus adjustment, through the accumulation of foreign exchange reserves, which now total $ trillion. I want to quickly add that greater exchange rate flexibility is in China's own best interest.