The Phillips Curve and the Italian Lira, 1861-1998

We examine Italian inflation rates and the Phillips curve with a very long-run perspective, one that covers the entire existence of the Italian lira from political unification (1861) to the entry of Italy in the European Monetary Union (end of 1998). We first study the volatility, persistence and stationarity of the Italian inflation rate over the long run and across various exchange-rate regimes that have shaped Italian monetary history. Next, we estimate alternative Phillips equations and investigate the extent to which nonlinearities, asymmetries and structural changes characterize the inflation-output trade-off in the long run. We capture the effects of structural changes and asymmetries on the estimated parameters of the inflation-output trade-off relying partly on sub-sample estimates and partly on time-varying parameters estimated with the Kalman filter. Finally, we investigate causal relationships between inflation rates and output and extend the analysis to include the US and the UK for comparison purposes. The inference is that Italy has experienced a conventional inflation-output trade-off only during times of low inflation and stable aggregate supply.inflation, Phillips curve, Italian lira

Macroeconomic instability and the phillips curve in Italy

The theme of this paper is whether there was a textbook-like inflation-output tradeoff in post-WWII Italy. We estimate both standard and time-varying parameter models of the relationship between inflation and the level of real economic activity over the 1949 to 2010 period and find no evidence of a stable, significant and positive association between output and prices. We attribute this evidence primarily to a fiscally dominated monetary policy and a rigid indexation mechanism aimed at protecting wages from inflation. These two institutions contributed to the persistent inflation bias and macroeconomic instability that lasted almost until the entry of the country in the European Monetary Union

Explainability in subgraphs-enhanced Graph Neural Networks

Recently, subgraphs-enhanced Graph Neural Networks (SGNNs) have been introduced to enhance the expressive power of Graph Neural Networks (GNNs), which was proved to be not higher than the 1-dimensional Weisfeiler-Leman isomorphism test. The new paradigm suggests using subgraphs extracted from the input graph to improve the model's expressiveness, but the additional complexity exacerbates an already challenging problem in GNNs: explaining their predictions. In this work, we adapt PGExplainer, one of the most recent explainers for GNNs, to SGNNs. The proposed explainer accounts for the contribution of all the different subgraphs and can produce a meaningful explanation that humans can interpret. The experiments that we performed both on real and synthetic datasets show that our framework is successful in explaining the decision process of an SGNN on graph classification tasks

Explainability in subgraphs-enhanced Graph Neural Networks

Paper submitted to https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/nldl/indexRecently, subgraphs-enhanced Graph Neural Networks (SGNNs) have been introduced to enhance the expressive power of Graph Neural Networks (GNNs), which was proved to be not higher than the 1-dimensional Weisfeiler-Leman isomorphism test. The new paradigm suggests using subgraphs extracted from the input graph to improve the model’s expressiveness, but the additional complexity exacerbates an already challenging problem in GNNs: explaining their predictions. In this work, we adapt PGExplainer, one of the most recent explainers for GNNs, to SGNNs. The proposed explainer accounts for the contribution of all the different subgraphs and can produce a meaningful explanation that humans can interpret. The experiments that we performed both on real and synthetic datasets show that our framework is successful in explaining the decision process of an SGNN on graph classification tasks

A novel intermediary framework for dynamic edge service composition

Multimedia content, user mobility and heterogeneous client devices require novel systems that are able to support ubiquitous access to the Web resources. In this scenario, solutions that combine flexibility, efficiency and scalabilityin offering edge services for ubiquitous access are needed. We propose an original intermediary framework, namely Scalable Intermediary Software Infrastructure (SISI), which is able to dynamically compose edge services on the basis of user preferences and device characteristics. The SISI framework exploits a per-user profiling mechanism, where each user can initiallyset his/her personal preferences through a simple Web interface, and the system is then able to compose at run-time the necessary components. The basic framework can be enriched through new edge services that can be easily implemented through a programming model based on APIs and internal functions. Our experiments demonstrate that flexibility and edge service composition do not affect the system performance. We show that this framework is able to chain multiple edge services and to guarantee stable performance

Prevalence of breastfeeding in Italy: a population based follow-up study

Abstract Introduction Breastfeeding is widely recommended. Updated data are needed to assess its prevalence and the effectiveness of interventions. Breastfeeding practices in Italy need to be promoted and monitored with updated and standard data The objective of this study is to provide estimates of the prevalence of breastfeeding and exclusively breastfeeding and to identify factors that may be modified to improve them. Materials and methods Two population-based follow-up surveys were conducted to evaluate the quality of maternal care in 25 Local Health Units in Italy during 2008-2011. Women were interviewed soon after giving birth and after 3, 6 and 12 months. Breastfeeding prevalences were estimated. A logistic regression model was used to investigate factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding at 3 months. Results Breastfeeding and exclusively breastfeeding prevalences were 91.6% and 57.2% at discharge, 71.6% and 48.6% at 3 months, 57.7% and 5.5% at 6 months. At 12 months, 32.5% were still breastfeeding. Women who are more likely to exclusively breastfeed at 3 months are multiparous, more educated, resident in the north/center, have attended antenatal classes and groups of breastfeeding support, have practiced the skin-to-skin contact in hospital and have initiated breastfeeding early. Conclusion In Italy many mothers do not comply with breastfeeding recommendations. The promotion and support of breastfeeding is still necessary in Italy and still needs to be monitored with representative data. Actions should aim at empowering women, reducing social inequalities and improving practices in hospitals and maternal care services which encourage breastfeeding

Limbal Stem-Cell Therapy and Long-Term Corneal Regeneration

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