It has become a part of the conventional wisdom of development policy that poverty reduction is one of the main development objectives. What are the key factors influencing the struggle to re-orient public expenditure towards the interests of the poor? This working paper from the Overseas Development Institute synthesises the key findings from case studies in five countries (Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda), each of which examined how public expenditure management has been linked to poverty reduction policy goals.