Sir:

In accepting "the claims of critics that [the IMF] is not democratically accountable," and alleging that "it is becoming even less so" because it reports to central bank governors who are becoming more independent, Professor Stiglitz (Corporate corruption, July 4) again shows that he has a lot to learn about how the IMF actually works. And in your recent leader (July 8) you follow his lead.

The IMF (like the World Bank) is accountable to its board of governors, consisting of one representative from each of its 183 member countries, with their voting power weighted by "quotas" broadly determined by countries' relative economic size. The IMF's governors are not all central bank governors, as Professor Stiglitz suggests, or even predominantly so. Most are representatives of governments, usually ministers of finance. Among the G8 countries, only Germany is represented by a central bank governor.

Misconceptions often seem to underlie Prof Stiglitz's attacks and you carry on this tradition. In Malawi, the IMF never created the conditions for famine as your leader suggests. A study commissioned by the Malawi government and endorsed by the entire donor community, including the IMF, recommended in 2000 that grain reserves be reduced from excessive and wasteful to more reasonable levels. Instead, and contrary to the advice, the warehouses were emptied; a government inquiry is currently under way to find out why.