New research produced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirms that “fiscal consolidation” (i.e., deficit reduction) policies of the sort currently applied by several European governments at the behest of the IMF and EU increase inequality and unemployment.

IMF researchers also have determined that capital account liberalization, which the IMF pressed its member countries to carry out until it changed its policy last year, has been associated with increased inequality.

In its new briefing paper, A Cautionary Tale: The True Cost of Austerity and Inequality in Europe, Oxfam compares Europe’s current austerity measures to the failed “structural adjustment” programs imposed on developing countries by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in the 1980s and 1990s. The conclusion?  “Europe is facing a lost decade. An additional 15 [million] to 25 million people across Europe could face the prospect of living in poverty by 2025 if austerity measures continue,” says the report.