Decisions concerning monetary and fiscal policy often depend in part on forecasts of the future course of real activity. But how accurate are those forecasts? The authors examine the relative accuracy of forecasts for inflation and economic growth made by the U.S. government for G-7 economies from 1976 to 1990. They compare the official forecasts to those made by other major private and public groups, including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD ) and the Federal Reserve.