Of meat and ritual: Consumptive and religious uses of pangolins in Mali

First paragraph: In many parts of Africa, wildlife is locally consumed for meat (Ingram et al., 2021). Hunting and consuming wild animals for meat is common in rural areas across the continent, and their bodies are openly sold in markets, along roadsides, and in restaurants or ‘chopbars’ (Eniang et al., 2008; Gonodelé Bi et al., 2017; Ingram et al., 2018). In some places, animal body parts are also used in traditional remedies purported to treat a variety of afflictions or bring good fortune (Bakarr et al., 2001; De Surgy, 1993; Imperato, 1977; Kedzierska & Jouvelet, 2006; Marshall, 1998; Sale, 1981). Wildlife is a fundamental component of ritual practices for some communities, both for consumptive ceremonial uses and as part of remedies (e.g. powders to mix with water and drink or bath with, scrubs, ointments) and/or ritual objects such as power objects or fetishes1 . Thus, it comes as no surprise that the body parts of wild animals are also sold in traditional ‘medicine’ or ‘fetish’ markets in several West African countries (Bassett, 2003; Hellweg, 2011; Nikolaus, 2011). Wildlife is still openly sold in traditional ‘medicine’ and/or fetish markets in Mali (Kedzierska & Jouvelet, 2006), Côte d'Ivoire (Bassett, 2003), Togo (D’Cruze et al., 2020), Benin (Djagoun et al., 2013), Ghana (Gbogbo & Daniels, 2019) and Nigeria (Nikolaus, 2011).Output Status: Forthcoming/Available Onlin

Researching shadow education: Methodological challenges and directions

Research on shadow education has considerably increased in volume and has helped to improve understanding of the scale, nature, and implications of the phenomenon. However, the field is still in its infancy. Literature on shadow education reflects confusion over terms and parameters, and data suffer from challenges in securing evidence from actors who may be unwilling or unable to respond to enquiries in a clear manner. Particular care is needed in cross-national and cross-cultural comparisons. Nevertheless, the trajectory of improvement in both conceptualisation and instrumentation gives ground for confidence that shadow education will be progressively better documented and better understood. © Education Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea 2010.published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 01 Dec 201

Determinants of Cross-Border M&As and Shareholder Wealth Effects in a Globalized World

We analyze theoretical insights and empirical regularities related to factors determining the cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and impact of M&As on shareholder value of acquires and targets. The analysis of cross-border M&As is a relatively new subject and only recently received rigorous attention in academic research. Within this nascent literature, the survey pays particular attention to the emerging markets, which, in line with their growing role of in the global economy, became an increasingly important arena for cross-border M&As. The existing evidence point out to prevailing challenges in studying cross-border M&As by emerging markets firms. The results are often contradictory and tend to focus on a single country falling short of formally testing existing theories or developing comprehensive theories for emerging economies. We show that the type of factors increasing the value enhancing effects of M&As tends to be similar to the factors affecting the likelihood of M&As transactions. The remaining methodological challenges for the existing studies are related to strong evidence with respect to nonrandom selection of acquisition targets, which, among other “selection issues,” has important implications for choosing counterfactual evidence in order to appropriately compare pre- and postacquisition performance of firms

The role of earnout financing on the valuation effects of global diversification

This article examines the impact of earnout financing on the value of acquiring firms engaged in cross-border acquisitions (CBAs), using a dataset of UK, US, Canadian and Australian firms from 1992 to 2012. The results show that firms initiating international business operations via earnout-financed CBAs enhance their value more than acquirers in (a) domestic acquisitions and (b) remaining CBAs by established multinational corporations (MNCs). Our findings demonstrate the superiority of earnout financing in CBAs announced by acquirers that have no prior international business experience. The results are robust to the firms’ endogenous choice to diversify globally and to the use of earnout financing. We contend that earnouts contribute to the reduction of valuation risk faced by firms acquiring a foreign target firm for the first time. Our empirical findings contribute to the existing debate on the merit of international expansion through CBAs and the role of earnout contingent payment

An Empirical Study of the Consequences of U.S. Tax Rules for International Acquisitions by U.S. Firms.

This article examines the effect of tax factors on the equity values of U.S. multinational corporations making foreign acquisitions. Abnormal stock returns are found to be related to a tax variable that captures differences in the international tax status of acquiring firms but not related to a naive tax variable that captures differences between tax rates in target countries and the United States. The authors' evidence suggests that aggregate intercountry differentials in after-tax returns are competed away, while firm-specific, tax-related advantages (or disadvantages) are reflected in abnormal returns around the announcement date of the acquisition. Copyright 1994 by American Finance Association.