The economics of seasonal cycles

by Jeffrey A. Miron

Historically, economists sought to understand the economic significance of macro fluctuations associated with seasons. During the 1920s and 1930s, the focus shifted to business cycles, and seasonal fluctuations were treated as noise that could be removed from data before analysis. Jeffrey Miron seeks to reverse this trend, arguing that seasonal fluctuations have much to teach macroeconomists. He analyzes the economic forces that produce seasonality and discusses the lessons about economic behavior that result from this analysis.