Analyzing Debt Sustainability: An Application of SimSIP Debt for Paraguay

One of the most difficult tasks in preparing a poverty reduction strategy consists in setting priorities for public action, taking into account the cost of social programs and the capacity of the government to pay that cost. The ability to pay for social programs is determined by the resources available to the government through taxation and loans or grants within a debt and fiscal sustainability framework. This paper shows how to conduct debt and fiscal sustainability analysis using SimSIP Debt, a user-friendly Excel-based tool, with an application to Paraguay.