nep-spo New Economics Papers
on Sports and Economics
Issue of 2012‒01‒25
three papers chosen by
Joao Carlos Correia Leitao
University of Beira Interior and Technical University of Lisbon

  1. Institutional Factors, Sport Policy, and Individual Sport Participation: An International Comparison By Humphreys, Brad; Maresova, Katerina; Ruseski, Jane
  2. Optimal football strategies: AC Milan versus FC Barcelona By Papahristodoulou, Christos
  3. Men too sometimes shy away from competition: The case of team competition By Dargnies, Marie-Pierre

  1. By: Humphreys, Brad (University of Alberta, Department of Economics); Maresova, Katerina (University of Economics, Prague); Ruseski, Jane (University of Alberta, Department of Economics)
    Abstract: Many countries promote participation in sport and physical activity among its citizens. We undertake an international comparative analysis of participation using data from 34 countries in the 2007 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) Leisure Time and Sports module, augmented with country-specifi c characteristics capturing economic, demographic, and institutional factors. Our findings indicate that participation in sport and physical activity falls with age and rises with education and income. GDP per capita and economic freedom are associated with higher participation; past success of the national team in the Olympics and hosting sports mega-events are associated with lower participation.
    Keywords: sport; physical activity; institutions; economic freedom
    JEL: H59 I12 I18 J22 L83
    Date: 2012–01–13
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:albaec:2012_001&r=spo
  2. By: Papahristodoulou, Christos
    Abstract: In a recent UEFA Champions League game between AC Milan and FC Barcelona, played in Italy (final score 2-3), the collected match statistics, classified into four offensive and two defensive strategies, were in favour of FC Barcelona (by 13 versus 8 points). The aim of this paper is to examine to what extent the optimal game strategies derived from some deterministic, possibilistic, stochastic and fuzzy LP models would improve the payoff of AC Milan at the cost of FC Barcelona.
    Keywords: football game; offensive & defensive strategies; Deterministic LP; fuzzy LP; stochastic LP; Nash equilibria;
    JEL: L83 C61 M54 C72
    Date: 2012–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35940&r=spo
  3. By: Dargnies, Marie-Pierre
    Abstract: Recent results in experimental and personnel economics indicate that women do not like competitive environments as much as men. This article presents an experimental design giving participants the opportunity to enter a tournament as part of a team rather than alone. While a large and significant gender gap in entry in the individual tournament is found in line with the literature, no gender gap is found in entry in the team tournament. Women do not enter the tournament significantly more often when it is team-based but men enter significantly less when they are part of a team rather than alone. The main reason for men's disaffection for the team competition appears to be linked to the uncertainty on their teammate's ability. More precisely, high-performing men fear to be the victims of the free-riding behaviour of their teammate. --
    Keywords: Teams,Gender Gap,Tournament
    Date: 2011
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wzbmbh:spii2011201&r=spo

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