nep-spo New Economics Papers
on Sports and Economics
Issue of 2006‒04‒29
two papers chosen by
Joao Carlos Correia Leitao
Universidade da Beira Interior

  1. The Economic Consequences of Professional Sports Strikes and Lockouts: Revisited By Robert Baade; Robert Baumann; Victor Matheson
  2. Relative Income Position and Performance: An Empirical Panel Analysis By Benno Torgler; Sascha L. Schmidt; Bruno S. Frey

  1. By: Robert Baade (Department of Economics and Business, Lake Forest College); Robert Baumann (Department of Economics, College of the Holy Cross); Victor Matheson (Department of Economics, College of the Holy Cross)
    Abstract: Professional sports franchises have used the lure of economic riches as an incentive for cities to construct new stadiums and arenas at considerable public expense. An analysis of taxable sales in Florida cities demonstrates that none of the 6 new franchises or 8 new stadiums and arenas in the state since 1980 have resulted in a statistically significant increase in taxable sales in the host metropolitan area. In addition, using the numerous work stoppages in professional sports as test cases, again no statistically significant effect on taxable sales is found from the sudden absence of professional sports due to strikes and lockouts.
    Keywords: sports, strikes, economic impact, baseball, football, basketball, hockey, stadiums
    JEL: L83 R53
    Date: 2006–04
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hcx:wpaper:0604&r=spo
  2. By: Benno Torgler (Yale Center for International and Area Studies); Sascha L. Schmidt (University of St. Gallen); Bruno S. Frey (University of Zurich)
    Abstract: Many studies have established that people care a great deal about their relative economic position and not solely, as standard economic theory assumes, about their absolute economic position. However, behavioral evidence is rare. This paper provides an empirical analysis on how individuals’ relative income position affects their performance. Using a unique data set for 1114 soccer players over a period of eight seasons (2833 observations), our analysis suggests that the larger the income differences within a team, the worse the performance of the soccer players is. The more the players are integrated in a particular social environment (their team), the more evident this negative effect is.
    Keywords: Relative Income, Positional Concerns, Envy, Performance, Social Integration
    JEL: D00 D60 L83
    Date: 2006–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2006.39&r=spo

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