  We analyze the low-energy spin structure of the nucleon in a covariant
effective field theory with explicit spin-3/2 degrees of freedom to third order
in the small scale expansion. Using the available data on the strong and
electromagnetic width of the Delta-resonance, we give parameter-free
predictions for various spin-polarizabilities and moments of spin structure
functions. We find an improved description of the nucleon spin structure at
finite photon virtualities for some observables and point out the necessity of
a fourth order calculation.
