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on Sports and Economics |
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Issue of 2010‒03‒20
five papers chosen by Joao Carlos Correia Leitao University of Beira Interior and Technical University of Lisbon |
| By: | Seth R. Gitter (Department of Economics, Towson University); Thomas Rhoads (Department of Economics, Towson University) |
| Abstract: | The established literature shows that new stadium construction for major league baseball (MLB) teams can increase attendance, but there are limited studies at the minor league level. We use a data set encompassing all A, AA, and AAA minor league baseball teams from 1992 to 2006 to estimate the impact of stadium construction on minor league attendance. This data set includes almost 200 teams, over half of which constructed a new stadium during the 15-year observation period. Over a ten year period our results show that new stadiums increase attendance by 1.2 million fans at the AAA level, 0.4 million at the AA and high A level, and 0.2 million at short season low A. Additionally, we find evidence that minor and major league baseball are potentially substitutes as increased ticket prices for the nearest MLB team lead to higher minor league attendance. However, a new stadium for local MLB teams does not seem to negatively impact minor league attendance. |
| Date: | 2010–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tow:wpaper:2010-06&r=spo |
| By: | Barbara Despiney (Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne); Waldemar Karpa (Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées ParisTech) |
| Abstract: | In 2007 Poland and Ukraine were awarded by UEFA to co-host the 2012 European Football Championships. This first "mega-event" to take place in the transition countries is commonly intended to yield large and lasting economic bebefits to the host cities. This point of view is rarely shared by economists, who are aware of misuse of economic impact estimates. In this paper, we modify the Keynesian-style multiplier model to investigate the effects of Euro 2012-related spending on local economies. Our goal is two-fold : on the one hand, we can easily investigate the impact on each demand component, on the other hand, we wish to calculate the magnitudes of these multipliers in order to judge the credibility of potential regional welfare benefits. This analysis is strenghtened by taking into account the regional supply constraints. Our study also reviews the existent body of work on mega-sporting events and our results are in line with those researches who argue that the true economic impact of these competitions is overestimated by a large margin. Finally, we stress the organizational and institutional dimension of hosting a "mega-event" by the transition and developing countries that are constantly struggled to tackle the colossal tasks of upgrading stadiums and modernizing airports, rail and road networks and hotels. |
| Keywords: | Economic impact, sports, sport economics, mega-events. |
| JEL: | L83 R13 |
| Date: | 2010–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mse:cesdoc:10006&r=spo |
| By: | Herman O. Stekler (Department of Economics The George Washington University); David Sendor; Richard Verlander |
| Abstract: | A great amount of effort is spent in forecasting the outcome of sporting events, but few papers have focused exclusively on the characteristics of sports forecasts. Rather, many papers have been written about the efficiency of sports betting markets. As it turns out, it is possible to derive considerable information about the forecasts and the forecasting process from the studies that tested the markets for economic efficiency. Moreover, the huge number of observations provided by betting markets makes it possible to obtain robust tests of various forecasting hypotheses. This paper is concerned with a number of forecasting topics in horse racing and several team sports. The first topic involves the type of forecast that is made: picking a winner or predicting whether a particular team beats the point spread. Different evaluation procedures will be examined and alternative forecasting methods (models, experts, and the market) will be compared. The paper also examines the evidence about the existence of biases in the forecasts and concludes with the applicability of these results to forecasting in general. |
| Keywords: | sports forecasting; betting markets; efficiency; bias; sports models |
| Date: | 2009–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gwc:wpaper:2009-002&r=spo |
| By: | Barbara Despiney (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - Paris I); Waldemar Karpa (ENSTA - Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées ParisTech) |
| Abstract: | In 2007 Poland and Ukraine were awarded by UEFA to co-host the 2012 European Football Championships. This first "mega-event" to take place in the transition countries is commonly intended to yield large and lasting economic bebefits to the host cities. This point of view is rarely shared by economists, who are aware of misuse of economic impact estimates. In this paper, we modify the Keynesian-style multiplier model to investigate the effects of Euro 2012-related spending on local economies. Our goal is two-fold : on the one hand, we can easily investigate the impact on each demand component, on the other hand, we wish to calculate the magnitudes of these multipliers in order to judge the credibility of potential regional welfare benefits. This analysis is strenghtened by taking into account the regional supply constraints. Our study also reviews the existent body of work on mega-sporting events and our results are in line with those researches who argue that the true economic impact of these competitions is overestimated by a large margin. Finally, we stress the organizational and institutional dimension of hosting a "mega-event" by the transition and developing countries that are constantly struggled to tackle the colossal tasks of upgrading stadiums and modernizing airports, rail and road networks and hotels. |
| Keywords: | Transition, sport economics, Economic impact, mega-events. |
| Date: | 2010–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-00461458_v1&r=spo |
| By: | Gerdes, Christer (SOFI, Stockholm University); Gränsmark, Patrik (SOFI, Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to measure differences in risk behavior among expert chess players. The study employs a panel data set on international chess with 1.4 million games recorded over a period of 11 years. The structure of the data set allows us to use individual fixed-effect estimations to control for aspects such as innate ability as well as other characteristics of the players. Most notably, the data contains an objective measure of individual playing strength, the so-called Elo rating. In line with previous research, we find that women are more risk-averse than men. A novel finding is that males choose more aggressive strategies when playing against female opponents even though such strategies reduce their winning probability. |
| Keywords: | risk aversion, competitiveness, gender, culture, mixed-sex competition |
| JEL: | J16 J70 J71 |
| Date: | 2010–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4793&r=spo |