11980. POLICY EVOLUTION AND CHANGE AT THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND. This paper discusses and analyzes how the IMF policies over the past few years represent a departure from the policies of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Following a brief historical overview of changes in the IMF's primary mandate since 1944, the analysis looks at specific recent shifts in policy in terms of credit arrangements, conditionality, and country focus. 14 pages, 51 footnotes, 24 bibliographic sources.