How Much Does the Federal Government Spend on Economic Modeling Activities?

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO identified fiscal year (FY) 1978 and FY 1980 federal payments for economic modeling services from each of four private economic forecasting firms. Subsequently, GAO was asked to identify total federal expenditures for both internal and external modeling activities. Due to time constraints, it was agreed that GAO would obtain unverified data from 24 federal agencies and departments and from the forecasting firms. Economic modeling activities were defined as periodic forecasts, economically related simulations of all types, and special projects involving single and multiple equation regressions. The figures represent best estimates based on available information of the modeling expenditures for each agency, department, and firm and their individual interpretations of what constitutes modeling activities.