Undertakes a content analysis of 2009 - 2010 IMF Article IV consultations for a sample of thirty low income and twenty middle income countries on fiscal adjustment, inflation targets, employment generation, poverty reduction and expansion of social protection.

Focuses on the impact of the global economic crisis on developing countries and their capacity to respond to it. Argues that the creation of fiscal and policy space for developing countries on a sustainable basis needs to be a central feature of the global development agenda.