Explaining Analytical Methods
- Report
The Role of Federal Home Loan Banks in the Financial System
CBO describes the role of Federal Home Loan Banks (a government-sponsored enterprise) in financial markets, their financial condition, the value of the federal subsidies they receive, and the risks they pose.
- Report
Administrative Costs of Federal Credit Programs
To assess the full costs of federal loans and loan guarantees, CBO has developed a method for estimating the present value of the lifetime administrative costs of certain federal credit programs.
- Report
Financial Commitments of Federal Credit and Insurance Programs, 2012 to 2021
CBO describes the commitments the federal government has made through its credit and insurance programs, including housing, real estate, and student loan programs, deposit insurance, insurance for private pensions, and flood and crop insurance.
- Report
How CBO Analyzes Public-Private Risk Sharing in Insurance Markets
CBO outlines how it analyzes public-private risk sharing in the federal terrorism insurance, crop insurance, and flood insurance programs. The agency also describes how that risk sharing affects the federal budget.
- Report
How the Federal Reserve’s Quantitative Easing Affects the Federal Budget
In this report, CBO examines the mechanisms by which quantitative easing — large asset purchasing programs conducted by the Federal Reserve— affects the federal budget deficit.
- Working Paper
A Model for Pricing Federal Housing Finance Obligations: Working Paper 2022-06
This paper presents a risk-neutral approach that CBO uses to inform its estimates of the fair-value cost of mortgage obligations.
- Report
Ginnie Mae and the Securitization of Federally Guaranteed Mortgages
CBO describes the securitization programs of the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) and compares its baseline budget projections for Ginnie Mae with outcomes under a scenario of severe economic stress.
- Working Paper
How CBO Estimates the Market Risk of Federal Credit Programs: Working Paper 2021-14
This paper describes the methods and data that CBO uses to estimate the cost of market risk for three categories of federal credit programs: housing and real estate loans, student loans and other consumer loans, and commercial loans.
- Working Paper
Fair-Value Budgeting: Practical Issues: Working Paper 2021-08
This paper explores the practical questions raised by fair-value budgeting: Which government activities would benefit from it? How might it be used? How can agencies estimate fair value without observing market prices for government risks?
- Working Paper
Governmental Risk Taking Under Market Imperfections: Working Paper 2021-07
This paper explores the benefits and costs of governmental risk taking in formal models of market imperfections, in which the government serves as an intermediary between different stakeholders in its finances.