| Abstract: |
This study uses the case of professional soccer to investigate the
determinants of human capital (HC) specificity. Inspired by labor market
research, we formulate three hypotheses on how uncertainty about the
usefulness of individuals’ (more productive) specific skills affects their
investment in (more flexible) general skills. The empirical analysis is based
on unique panel data on school grades, soccer evaluations, and the
sociodemographic characteristics of 90 elite players from the youth academy of
a German Bundesliga club. We find that senior and long-serving players, who
are comparably certain that their (soccer) specific capital will be sufficient
to ensure a lucrative professional contract, invest less in general HC at
school. Expected soccer performance, in contrast, has a counterintuitive
positive effect. Our results expand knowledge on the factors influencing HC
specificity from the macro to the subject level and highlight practical
implications for institutions that train gifted individuals. |