TY  - JOUR
AU  - Miron,Jeffrey A.
AU  - Beaulieu,J. Joseph
TI  - What Have Macroeconomists Learned about Business Cycles from the Study  of Seasonal Cycles?
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 5258
PY  - 1995
Y2  - September 1995
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w5258
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w5258.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Jeffrey A. Miron
Department of Economics
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: 781/856-0086
Fax: 617/495-8570
E-Mail: miron@fas.harvard.edu

Joseph Beaulieu
Division of Research & Statistics
The Federal Reserve Board, Mail Stop 82
20th and Constitution
Washington, DC  20551
Tel: 617/253-8712
E-Mail: no email available
AB  - This paper argues that analysis of seasonal fluctuations can shed light on the nature of business cycle fluctuations.  The fundamental reason is that in many instances identifying restrictions about seasonal fluctuations are more believable than analogous restrictions about non-seasonal fluctuations.  We show that seasonal fluctuations provide good examples of preference shifts and synergistic equilibria. We also find evidence against production smoothing and in favor of unmeasured variation in labor and capital utilization.  In some industries capacity constraints appear to bind.
ER  -