How far can changes in general business activity be forecasted

Abstract An F test [Nelson (1976)] of Parzen's prediction variance horizon [Parzen (1982)] of an ARMA model yields the number of steps ahead that forecasts contain information (short memory). A special 10 year pattern in Finnish GDP is introduced as a ‘seasonal’ in an ARMA-model. Forecasts three years ahead are statistically informative but exploiting the complete 10 year pattern raises doubts both about model memory and model validity.