Publications
"Nobody does defense policy better than CSBA. Their work on strategic and budgetary topics manages to combine first-rate quality and in-depth research with timeliness and accessibility—which is why so many professionals consider their products indispensable." – Gideon Rose, Editor of Foreign Affairs, 2010-2021
Search Publications
Studies
Strategic Choices Exercise Outbrief
As the Pentagon nears completion of its ongoing Strategic Choices and Management Review, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments conducted an external Strategic Choices Exercise with teams of experts from three other prominent think-tanks—CSIS, AEI and CNAS–to inform public debate.
Briefs
Looking Beyond the Fog Bank: Fiscal Challenges Facing Defense
As attention now turns to the FY 2014 budget and the Administration’s much-delayed budget request, the fundamental issues that led to uncertainty and delays in the FY 2013 budget remain unresolved.
Briefs
What the Fiscal Cliff Deal Means for Defense
The American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) of 2012, signed into law on January 2, 2013, averted much of what has become known as the “fiscal cliff.” While the bill mostly deals with automatic changes scheduled to take effect for tax rates and programs such as Medicare and unemployment insurance, it also makes several important changes to sequestration that affect the Department of Defense (DoD). Specifically, it delays sequestration by two months, reduces the amount of cuts in proportion to the delay, and alters the way the budget caps are applied in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013. This backgrounder details how the new law alters sequestration and what it means for defense.
Studies
Contracting Under Fire: Lessons Learned in Wartime Contracting and Expeditionary Economics
This study assesses the U.S. Expeditionary Economics effort through four case studies: Iraq’s State-Owned Enterprises, Local-First Programs, the National Solidarity Program and Commander’s Emergency Response Programs.
Studies
Strategic Choices: Navigating Austerity
The report is based on the insights developed through a series of exercises that CSBA conducted during the summer of 2012. The exercises sought to inform the debate on the way defense resources are allocated in light of declining budgets, the evolving threat environment and the changing DoD’s priorities.
Studies
Rebalancing Military Compensation: An Evidence-Based Approach
This groundbreaking study presents a new approach for optimizing the military compensation system. Rather than focusing exclusively on reducing costs, the study looks at options for getting better value from the compensation system by shifting funds from undervalued forms of compensation to more highly valued forms of compensation.