The IMF has been criticized in various quarters for adopting a standard "one-size-fits-all" approach to determining the desired level of fiscal adjustment without taking into account country-specific constraints and circumstances. Concern has also been expressed that there is an excessive focus on fiscal austerity, which hurts the poor and may also produce a contractionary bias in IMF-supported programs. This paper examines these and other aspects of fiscal adjustment in IMF-supported programs based on analysis of a cross-section database covering 133 programs in 70 countries, supplemented by a more in-depth examination of program-related documents for 15 programs.
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