In addition to projecting economic developments over the next 10 years, CBO also projects economic conditions for the decades ahead—primarily as a part of developing CBO’s Long-Term Budget Outlook. Key factors affecting the long-term economic outlook include the aging of the population, productivity growth, and interest rates. CBO analyzes the long-term economic effects of alternative budget policies as well.
CBOLT is the main analytical tool that CBO uses to make long-term projections of the economy and federal budget. Those projections help shed light on fiscal challenges that extend beyond CBO’s standard 10-year projection window.
