How CBO Uses Research to Inform Congressional Budget Analysis

The US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) produces nonpartisan and independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues to support the congressional budget process. CBO’s work products rely heavily on economic research. The structure of CBO’s work for Congress often sharply highlights key gaps in the existing research literature relative to what is needed to produce the information Congress requests. This paper provides some context on how CBO relies on economic research, and it presents two extended examples illustrating the connections between research and policy analysis: changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and changes in permitting requirements for investments in physical infrastructure.