Three distinct strands can be identified in the literature on seasonality. Economists have long been interested in removing high-frequency "noise" from individual economic time series, or "deseasonalizing the data" in common parlance. The second strand, on which an extensive technical literature...

In the context of the current debate over standards of public services in Ireland and the appropriate level of public spending this paper reviews historical trends in Irish public expenditure, its relationship to GDP/GNP and comparisons with other EU states. The growth in Irish public spending...