Essay on the economics of corruption

Korruptio on tyypillisesti merkittävä sosiaalinen ja taloudellinen ongelma vähemmän kehittyneissä maissa, mutta sen piirteet ja seuraukset ovat jo pitkään olleet tuttuja myös kehittyneissä maissa. Korruptio kasvattaa epätasa-arvoa ja köyhyyttä, heikentää instituutioita, johtaa resurssien väärinkäyttöön, vääristää politiikkaa ja vaarantaa yksityisen sektorin kehityksen. Lisäksi korruptio vaikuttaa julkiseen keskusteluun, mielipideilmastoon ja kansalaisten käyttäytymiseen. Korruptiota on siis suitsittava kaikin keinoin. Korruption taloudellisten vaikutusten empiirinen tutkimus käynnistyi 1990- luvulla. Tutkimusten mukaan korruptio on pääosin haitallista kansantaloudelle, mutta ei välttämättä kaikissa tapauksissa. Siitä voi olla jopa hyötyä, jos virallinen hallinto ja instituutiot ovat kelvottomia. Korruption vaikutus kansantalouden suorituskykyyn on hyvin monisyinen. Väitöskirjassa tarkastellaan korruption vaikutusta talouskasvuun maailman 99 maassa vuosina 2006–2014. Yleinen havainto on, että korruptio heikentää talouskasvua, kun maassa on poliittista epävakautta, väkivaltaa ja terrorismia. Korruptio myös voimistaa virallisen hallinnon heikkouden kielteisiä kasvuvaikutuksia. Väitöskirjassa osoitetaan kuitenkin myös, että korruptio saattaa joskus toimia toiseenkin suuntaan. Korruptiolla voi olla positiivisia vaikutuksia, jos hallinto on poliittisesti jyrkkää ja tehotonta, sääntely estää yksityisen sektorin kehityksen ja oikeusvaltioperiaate ei toimi. Tällaisissa tapauksissa korruptio saattaa lieventää hallinnon virheiden negatiivisia kasvuvaikutuksia. Niin sanottu "tehokkaan korruption hypoteesi" saa siis osittaista tukea. Väitöskirjassa paneudutaan huonon hallinnon ja korruption väliseen syy- seuraussuhteeseen. Huono hallinto mahdollistaa sinänsä korruption, mutta poliitikot ja byrokraatit saattavat myös tarkoituksellisesti vääristää hallintoaan synnyttääkseen itselleen hyödyllistä korruptiota. Asiaa tutkitaan 117 maan aineistolla ajanjaksolla 1996–2013. Syy-yhteys on yksisuuntainen, kun vastuu korruptioon puuttumisesta on heikosti määritelty. Kaksisuuntaista syy-yhteyttä esiintyy, kun maassa on poliittista epävakautta, väkivaltaa ja terrorismia, hallinto voimakaan poliittinen ja tehoton, sääntely estää yksityisen sektorin kehityksen ja oikeusvaltioperiaatteessa on vakavia puutteita. Aikaisemmassa tutkimuksessa on laajalti paneuduttu korruption kasvuvaikutuksiin, mutta sen kytkentää taloussuhdanteisiin on tutkittu vähän. Väitöskirjassa asiaa tutkitaan 110 maan aineistolla vuosina 1984– 2011. Tulokset antavat osittaista tukea hypoteesille, että korruptio vähenee noususuhdanteessa, mutta lisääntyy talouden taantumassa. Suhdannevaikutus on erityisen selvä korkean tulotason maissa ja maissa, joissa oikeusvaltioperiaate on vahva. Matalan tulotason maissa ja niissä, joissa oikeusvaltioperiaate on heikko, nousukausi ei välttämättä vähennä (yleensä runsasta) korruptiota eikä laskukausi lisää sitä. Väitöskirjassa tutkitaan myös korruption vaikutusta talouden kokonaistuottavuuteen. Ideana on, että korruptio voi vaikuttaa talouteen niin sanotun Solow-residuaalin kautta. Asiaa tarkastellaan 90 maan aineistolla vuosien 1996–2014 aikana. Havaintona on, että korruptio alentaa kokonaistuottavuutta, mutta kun verorasituksen vaikutus otetaan huomioon, korruption vaikutus kokonaistuottavuuden kääntyy positiiviseiksi. Toisin sanoen veronkorotukset voivat lieventää korruption tuottavuushaittoja.Corruption is a serious impediment to the prosperity and development of societies. It is typically a significant social and economic problem in less-developed countries, but its various aspects and consequences have long been recognised in more developed countries, too. Corruption significantly fosters inequalities and poverty by undermining institutions, leading to the misallocation of resources, the blurring of public policy and the hindering of private sector development. Strictly from the perspective of the Public Choice current, corruption must be monitored at all costs because the role of the public sector is gradually being privatised. Furthermore, corruption considerably affects any representative debate on public decisions. The first empirical studies on the economic consequences of corruption began in the 1990s, and these studies found that corruption damages the economic performance of countries. However, the negative effect of corruption has not proven systematic. Indeed, corruption may have virtues in the contexts of inefficient government policies and institutions. The underpinning of this dissertation lies in the problematic of the effect of corruption on economic performance. Using data from a total of 99 countries worldwide over 2006–2014, this dissertation concludes that the influence of corruption on the economy is mixed. In particular, corruption reduces per capita GDP growth in the presence of high political instability, violence and terrorism. Furthermore, corruption seems to exacerbate the negative consequences of such governance failures on growth. While underlining its detrimental aspects, the study at the same time argues that corruption may nevertheless have virtue. This therefore gives credit to the ‘efficient’ corruption hypothesis, albeit contradictory with collective morals. Indeed, corruption becomes beneficial to per capita GDP growth in the presence of (i.) poor public administration displaying strong political pressure and inefficient public policies; (ii.) a deficient regulatory framework to promote private sector development; and (iii.) weak rule of law, likely to question contracts and threaten private properties. In such cases, corruption rather seems to mitigate the costs of governance failures on economic growth. Furthermore, the dissertation tackles the recurring causality issue between bad governance and corruption. Although the mainstream line of economic research suggests that distorted bureaucracy provokes corruption, it is also well known that bureaucrats deliberately encourage distortive tediousness within the administration in order to raise motives for bribery. At this level, the dissertation examines a series data for 117 countries worldwide with a time span of 1996–2013. The empirical analysis yielded substantial evidence of causal effects à la Granger between poor governance and corruption. In particular, a unidirectional causal link was found between the absence of Voice and accountability to corruption. Meanwhile, the data indicate a bidirectional causal nexus between corruption and other aspects of institutional shortcomings, including (i.) political instability, violence and terrorism; (ii.) poor public administration with strong political pressure and inefficient public policy; (iii.) a deficient regulatory framework to promote private sector development; and (iv.) weak rule of law, likely to question contracts and threaten private properties. Moreover, another interesting topic debated in the dissertation relates to the cyclical behaviours of corruption. Although volumes of research have analysed the relationship between corruption and economic growth, few studies observed corruption from the angle of economic cycles. For instance, according to Galbraith (1997), embezzlement flourishes in business booms and withers in recessions. In this context, the dissertation tests the empirical validity of this hypothesis using data from 110 countries worldwide over the 1984–2011 period. The findings are rather contradictory regarding the benchmark hypothesis. Our data suggest that corruption shrinks when transitory income increases, which means that economic booms encourage integrity, while recessions make corruption bloom. In particular, our findings show that economic booms significantly help in reducing corruption habits in high-income countries, or in those with a good quality of rule of law. At the same time, economic depression constitutes a considerable risk for more corruption. On the other hand, our results indicate that integrity gains resulting from the growth in economic activities overall remain low in low-income countries, or in those with a poor rule of law. For these countries, expansion cycles do not necessarily mean a decline in corruption practices, nor do recessions mean further corruption. Note also that such a result does not mean that corruption is low in these countries – indeed it is quite the opposite. In the end, the dissertation examines total factor productivity (TFP) (also referred to as Solow residual in the economic literature) as a channel through which corruption might undermine the economic prosperity of countries. The rationale for such a study is that extensive research has shown that TFP also contributes significantly to the growth of output of countries, as does human or physical capital. In addition, economic growth is becoming increasingly sensitive to variance in TFP growth rather than to variance in twin growth factors. The study therefore assumes that corruption could channel TFP to affect economic growth. Using statistics from 90 countries worldwide over a time span of 1996–2014, the empirical survey tests the effect of corruption on such productivity. Then, it attempts to measure the influence of tax burden on the hypothetical relationship. Our findings unambiguously conclude that corruption and tax burden lower productivity. In particular, a one-unit increase in the corruption standard deviation is associated with a decrease in productivity of about 0.041 %. Moreover, when the effect of tax burden is considered, the overall effect of corruption on TFP becomes positive, which means that tax rate increases can alleviate the cost of corruption in terms of productivity

Évaluation de la performance des institutions de microfinance (IMFs) par la méthode d'enveloppement des données

Cette thèse est composée de trois essais portant sur la performance des Institutions de Microfinance (IMFs) évaluée a I'aide de la méthode d'enveloppement des données (Data Envelopment Analysis ou DEA). L'objectif general est de voir si ces institutions qui doivent faire un compromis entre leur rôle social et leur rentabilité financière opèrent de facon efficace.\ud \ud Le premier essai est centré sur les IMFs de I'Union Éconornique et Monétaire Ouest Africain (UEMOA). Dans un premier temps, nous évaluons suivant les aspects opérationnel, coût, revenu et profit l'efficacité relative des IMFs dans chacun des sept pays de I'UEMOA. Dans un deuxièrne temps, nous déterrninons les sources d'inefficacité dans Ie temps et d'un pays par rapport à un autre en utilisant l'indice de productivité de Malmquist. Ces sources peuvent être dues soit au progrès technologique (innovations dans Ie secteur qui entrainent un déplacernent de la frontière efficace), soit au changement d'efficacité technique (déplacement par rapport à la frontière).\ud \ud Les résultats montrent que Ie niveau d'efficacité est homogène à l'interieur d'un mêrne pays, mais qu'il diffère d'un pays à l'autre. En tenant compte du prix de leurs ressources, nous observons également que les IMFs ont la possibilité de minimiser leurs coûts. Ce manque d'efficacité maximum au niveau des coûts entraine une moindre efficacité au niveau des revenus et des profits. Nous observons aussi, avec l'indice de productivité de Malmquist, que Ie niveau de productivité dans Ie secteur résulte plus du progrès technologique que de I'amélioration de I'efficacité opérationnelle (technique).\ud \ud Dans Ie deuxièrne essai, nous comparons la performance des IMFs dans trois régions géographiques (Afrique, Asie du Sud et de l'Est et Amérique Latine). L'objectif est d'analyser l'impact des structures environnementales ou régionales sur l'efficacité opérationnelle, coût, revenu et profit des IMFs.\ud \ud Les résultats montrent des niveaux d'efficacité comparables en Asie et en Amérique Latine. L'Afrique est quelque peu en marge de ces deux régions. De façon générale, nous constatons une faible efficacité coût et, en conséquence, des efficacités économique, revenu et profit relativement faibles. L'indice de Malmquist montre également que la productivité dans le secteur est principalement attribuable au progrès technologique.\ud \ud Le troisième essai analyse I'impact du statut de I'IMF sur son niveau d'efficacité. Les IMFs ont généralement Ie statut de coopératives (COOP), d'institutions financières non bancaires (IFNB) ou d'organisations non gouvernementales (ONG). Depuis quelques années, certaines institutions adoptent Ie statut de banque. La question est de savoir sl la structure organisationnelle de I'IMF a un impact sur son niveau d'efficacité relative.\ud \ud Lorsqu'on évalue les IMFs sur Ie plan opérationnel selon un rendement d'échelle variable, les résultats montrent que celles ayant Ie statut de banque sont plus efficaces que les autres formes juridiques . Les COOP présentent généralement un faible niveau d'efficacité technique. Les ONG et les IFNB se situent entre ces deux types de structures. Tout comme dans le cas précédent, nous trouvons une faible efficacité coût, ce qui se répercute négativernent sur les efficacités éconornique, revenu et profit. Quant aux sources d'inefficacité, nous observons qu'elles sont principalement dues aux inefficacités techniques plutot qu'aux innovations technologiques.\ud \ud En conclusion, tout d'abord au niveau des pays de l'UEMOA, cette thèse montre que les IMFs sont plus performantes dans un environnement politique stable. On constate aussi que les IMFs de certains pays auraient intérêt a copier les pratiques d'autres pays en vue d'améliorer leur performance. Ensuite, I'analyse portant sur différentes zones géographiques révèle,à tout Ie moins sur la base de nos critères,que les IMFs sont comparativement moins performantes en Afrique. Peut-être pour des raisons de stabilité politique ou d'environnements éconornique, juridique et social différents, ou encore d'un attrait plus faible de capitaux etrangers, Peut-être aussi à cause d'une structure d'opération (par exernple : coopératives, organismes non gouvernementaux, institutions non bancaires) différente des IMFs d'une zone géographique à I'autre. Sur ce dernier point, les résultats montrent que les IMFs qui opèrent sous Ie statut de banque sont relativement plus efficaces que les autres

Fièvre bilieuse hémoglobinurique (FBH) de révélation tardive: à propos d’un cas au CHU de Dakar

La fièvre bilieuse hémoglobinurique (FBH) est une forme grave du paludisme; caractérisée par la survenue d'une hémolyse intravasculaire aiguë se traduisant par une anémie hémolytique, une insuffisance rénale aiguë et une hypovolémie. Son diagnostic repose essentiellement sur la clinique notamment la couleur  des urines d'aspect rouge porto. Nous rapportons un cas de fièvre bilieuse hémoglobinurique chez un jeune garçon de 10 ans originaire et vivant dans une zone d'endémie palustre, colligé dans un CHU de Dakar  (Sénégal). V.G est un garçon de 10 ans qui était hospitalisé pendant 2 jours au service des urgences dans un centre de santé de proximité pour une fièvre associée à des vomissements qui évoluaient depuis 3 jours. Le test de diagnostic rapide (TDR) au paludisme était positif à la présence d'antigènes de   Plasmodium falciparum dans le sang. Un traitement à base de quinine injectable (25 mg/kg/j), a été   entrepris pendant 03 jours. Au quatrième jour, sont apparues une hémolyse intravasculaire aiguë et une  hémoglobinurie avec une insuffisance rénale aiguë anurique. La goutte épaisse était revenue négative et le traitement par la quinine injectable arrêté. Le relais a été fait avec les dérivés de l'artémisinine. Trois  (03) séances d'hémodialyse ont été réalisées. L'évolution était favorable, par la reprise de la diurèse et la normalisation de la fonction rénale. La FBH existe encore dans notre pratique quotidienne. Il faut y penser devant l'apparition brutale d'une hémolyse avec insuffisance rénale aiguë et urines rouges porto au cours du traitement d'un paludisme.Key words: Paludisme grave, hémoglobinurie, quinin

Antibioprophylaxie pour chirurgie de médecine humanitaire en zone de conflit au Mali

Objectif : Identifier les antibiotiques utilisés et évaluer notre pratique en médecine humanitaire. Patients et Méthode : Etude prospective de 30 jours. La saisie et l’analyse des données ont été faites par Windows 8, Epi info 3.5.3 fr et le khi² pour le test statistique. Résultats : Soixante-trois (63) patients répondaient aux critères. L’âge moyen était de 33,3 ± 18, 5 ans. Les femmes rurales prédominaient. Les urgences représentaient 65,1% des cas. L’indication de l'antibioprophylaxie était Gynéco-obstétricale dans 63, 5% suivie de la chirurgie viscérale dans 20,6%, de l’urologie dans 11,1% et de la traumatologie dans 4,8%. Les patients étaient ASA I dans 69,8%. La classe d’Altémeier était II dans 81%. Une antibioprophylaxie a été faite dans 88,9%. Les β lactamines en monothérapie ont été les plus utilisées dans 84,1% suivies de l’association β lactamine-imidazole dans 9,5%, de l’association β lactamine-aminoside dans 1,6% et les quinolones dans 1,6%. Le délai entre l’administration de l’antibiotique et l’induction anesthésique était de : 6 ± 2,4 minutes. L’antibiotique a été administré entre 25 et 40 minutes avant l’incision chirurgicale. Une complication infectieuse a été observée dans 11, 1%. L’évolution était favorable dans 98,4%.Conclusion : Même en situation de crise sanitaire, l’utilisation de l’antibiotique au bloc opératoire doit répondre à des critères dont l’écologie microbienne et le site opératoire sont déterminants

Control of Ebola virus disease outbreaks: Comparison of health care worker-targeted and community vaccination strategies

Background Health care workers (HCW) are at risk of infection during Ebola virus disease outbreaks and therefore may be targeted for vaccination before or during outbreaks. The effect of these strategies depends on the role of HCW in transmission which is understudied. Methods To evaluate the effect of HCW-targeted or community vaccination strategies, we used a transmission model to explore the relative contribution of HCW and the community to transmission. We calibrated the model to data from multiple Ebola outbreaks. We quantified the impact of ahead-of-time HCW-targeted strategies, and reactive HCW and community vaccination. Results We found that for some outbreaks (we call “type 1″) HCW amplified transmission both to other HCW and the community, and in these outbreaks prophylactic vaccination of HCW decreased outbreak size. Reactive vaccination strategies had little effect because type 1 outbreaks ended quickly. However, in outbreaks with longer time courses (“type 2 outbreaks”), reactive community vaccination decreased the number of cases, with or without prophylactic HCW-targeted vaccination. For both outbreak types, we found that ahead-of-time HCW-targeted strategies had an impact at coverage of 30%. Conclusions The vaccine strategies tested had a different impact depending on the transmission dynamics and previous control measures. Although we will not know the characteristics of a new outbreak, ahead-of-time HCW-targeted vaccination can decrease the total outbreak size, even at low vaccine coverage

Use of a Cholera Rapid Diagnostic Test during a Mass Vaccination Campaign in Response to an Epidemic in Guinea, 2012

During the 2012 cholera outbreak in the Republic of Guinea, the Ministry of Health, supported by Médecins Sans Frontières - Operational Center Geneva, used the oral cholera vaccine Shanchol as a part of the emergency response. The rapid diagnostic test (RDT) Crystal VC, widely used during outbreaks, detects lipopolysaccharide antigens of Vibrio cholerae O1 and O139, both included in Shanchol. In the context of reactive use of a whole-cell cholera vaccine in a region where cholera cases have been reported, it is essential to know what proportion of vaccinated individuals would be reactive to the RDT and for how long after vaccination

Ring vaccination with rVSV-ZEBOV under expanded access in response to an outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Guinea, 2016: an operational and vaccine safety report.

BACKGROUND: In March, 2016, a flare-up of Ebola virus disease was reported in Guinea, and in response ring vaccination with the unlicensed rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine was introduced under expanded access, the first time that an Ebola vaccine has been used in an outbreak setting outside a clinical trial. Here we describe the safety of rVSV-ZEBOV candidate vaccine and operational feasibility of ring vaccination as a reactive strategy in a resource-limited rural setting. METHODS: Approval for expanded access and compassionate use was rapidly sought and obtained from relevant authorities. Vaccination teams and frozen vaccine were flown to the outbreak settings. Rings of contacts and contacts of contacts were defined and eligible individuals, who had given informed consent, were vaccinated and followed up for 21 days under good clinical practice conditions. FINDINGS: Between March 17 and April 21, 2016, 1510 individuals were vaccinated in four rings in Guinea, including 303 individuals aged between 6 years and 17 years and 307 front-line workers. It took 10 days to vaccinate the first participant following the confirmation of the first case of Ebola virus disease. No secondary cases of Ebola virus disease occurred among the vaccinees. Adverse events following vaccination were reported in 47 (17%) 6-17 year olds (all mild) and 412 (36%) adults (individuals older than 18 years; 98% were mild). Children reported fewer arthralgia events than adults (one [<1%] of 303 children vs 81 [7%] of 1207 adults). No severe vaccine-related adverse events were reported. INTERPRETATION: The results show that a ring vaccination strategy can be rapidly and safely implemented at scale in response to Ebola virus disease outbreaks in rural settings. FUNDING: WHO, Gavi, and the World Food Programme

Efficacy and effectiveness of an rVSV-vectored vaccine in preventing Ebola virus disease: final results from the Guinea ring vaccination, open-label, cluster-randomised trial (Ebola Ça Suffit!).

BACKGROUND: rVSV-ZEBOV is a recombinant, replication competent vesicular stomatitis virus-based candidate vaccine expressing a surface glycoprotein of Zaire Ebolavirus. We tested the effect of rVSV-ZEBOV in preventing Ebola virus disease in contacts and contacts of contacts of recently confirmed cases in Guinea, west Africa. METHODS: We did an open-label, cluster-randomised ring vaccination trial (Ebola ça Suffit!) in the communities of Conakry and eight surrounding prefectures in the Basse-Guinée region of Guinea, and in Tomkolili and Bombali in Sierra Leone. We assessed the efficacy of a single intramuscular dose of rVSV-ZEBOV (2×107 plaque-forming units administered in the deltoid muscle) in the prevention of laboratory confirmed Ebola virus disease. After confirmation of a case of Ebola virus disease, we definitively enumerated on a list a ring (cluster) of all their contacts and contacts of contacts including named contacts and contacts of contacts who were absent at the time of the trial team visit. The list was archived, then we randomly assigned clusters (1:1) to either immediate vaccination or delayed vaccination (21 days later) of all eligible individuals (eg, those aged ≥18 years and not pregnant, breastfeeding, or severely ill). An independent statistician generated the assignment sequence using block randomisation with randomly varying blocks, stratified by location (urban vs rural) and size of rings (≤20 individuals vs >20 individuals). Ebola response teams and laboratory workers were unaware of assignments. After a recommendation by an independent data and safety monitoring board, randomisation was stopped and immediate vaccination was also offered to children aged 6-17 years and all identified rings. The prespecified primary outcome was a laboratory confirmed case of Ebola virus disease with onset 10 days or more from randomisation. The primary analysis compared the incidence of Ebola virus disease in eligible and vaccinated individuals assigned to immediate vaccination versus eligible contacts and contacts of contacts assigned to delayed vaccination. This trial is registered with the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry, number PACTR201503001057193. FINDINGS: In the randomised part of the trial we identified 4539 contacts and contacts of contacts in 51 clusters randomly assigned to immediate vaccination (of whom 3232 were eligible, 2151 consented, and 2119 were immediately vaccinated) and 4557 contacts and contacts of contacts in 47 clusters randomly assigned to delayed vaccination (of whom 3096 were eligible, 2539 consented, and 2041 were vaccinated 21 days after randomisation). No cases of Ebola virus disease occurred 10 days or more after randomisation among randomly assigned contacts and contacts of contacts vaccinated in immediate clusters versus 16 cases (7 clusters affected) among all eligible individuals in delayed clusters. Vaccine efficacy was 100% (95% CI 68·9-100·0, p=0·0045), and the calculated intraclass correlation coefficient was 0·035. Additionally, we defined 19 non-randomised clusters in which we enumerated 2745 contacts and contacts of contacts, 2006 of whom were eligible and 1677 were immediately vaccinated, including 194 children. The evidence from all 117 clusters showed that no cases of Ebola virus disease occurred 10 days or more after randomisation among all immediately vaccinated contacts and contacts of contacts versus 23 cases (11 clusters affected) among all eligible contacts and contacts of contacts in delayed plus all eligible contacts and contacts of contacts never vaccinated in immediate clusters. The estimated vaccine efficacy here was 100% (95% CI 79·3-100·0, p=0·0033). 52% of contacts and contacts of contacts assigned to immediate vaccination and in non-randomised clusters received the vaccine immediately; vaccination protected both vaccinated and unvaccinated people in those clusters. 5837 individuals in total received the vaccine (5643 adults and 194 children), and all vaccinees were followed up for 84 days. 3149 (53·9%) of 5837 individuals reported at least one adverse event in the 14 days after vaccination; these were typically mild (87·5% of all 7211 adverse events). Headache (1832 [25·4%]), fatigue (1361 [18·9%]), and muscle pain (942 [13·1%]) were the most commonly reported adverse events in this period across all age groups. 80 serious adverse events were identified, of which two were judged to be related to vaccination (one febrile reaction and one anaphylaxis) and one possibly related (influenza-like illness); all three recovered without sequelae. INTERPRETATION: The results add weight to the interim assessment that rVSV-ZEBOV offers substantial protection against Ebola virus disease, with no cases among vaccinated individuals from day 10 after vaccination in both randomised and non-randomised clusters. FUNDING: WHO, UK Wellcome Trust, the UK Government through the Department of International Development, Médecins Sans Frontières, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (through the Research Council of Norway's GLOBVAC programme), and the Canadian Government (through the Public Health Agency of Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, International Development Research Centre and Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development)

A Close Eye on the Eagle-Eyed Visual Acuity Hypothesis of Autism

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been associated with sensory hypersensitivity. A recent study reported visual acuity (VA) in ASD in the region reported for birds of prey. The validity of the results was subsequently doubted. This study examined VA in 34 individuals with ASD, 16 with schizophrenia (SCH), and 26 typically developing (TYP). Participants with ASD did not show higher VA than those with SCH and TYP. There were no substantial correlations of VA with clinical severity in ASD or SCH. This study could not confirm the eagle-eyed acuity hypothesis of ASD, or find evidence for a connection of VA and clinical phenotypes. Research needs to further address the origins and circumstances associated with altered sensory or perceptual processing in ASD

The Role of Sensorimotor Difficulties in Autism Spectrum Conditions

AbstractIn addition to difficulties in social communication, current diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum conditions (ASC) also incorporate sensorimotor difficulties; repetitive motor movements and atypical reactivity to sensory input (APA, 2013). This paper explores whether sensorimotor difficulties are associated with the development and maintenance of symptoms in ASC. Firstly, studies have shown difficulties coordinating sensory input into planning and executing movement effectively in ASC. Secondly, studies have shown associations between sensory reactivity and motor coordination with core ASC symptoms, suggesting these areas each strongly influence the development of social and communication skills. Thirdly, studies have begun to demonstrate that sensorimotor difficulties in ASC could account for reduced social attention early in development, with a cascading effect on later social, communicative and emotional development. These results suggest that sensorimotor difficulties not only contribute to non-social difficulties such as narrow circumscribed interests, but also to the development of social behaviours such as effectively coordinating eye contact with speech and gesture, interpreting others’ behaviour and responding appropriately. Further research is needed to explore the link between sensory and motor difficulties in ASC, and their contribution to the development and maintenance of ASC