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on Sports and Economics |
| By: | Kai A. Konrad |
| Abstract: | Why do strong players allow weak players to join their team, even though weak players are notorious for free riding? This paper shows that the dynamic structure of a tug-of-war is suitable for mobilizing efforts by weak players and making the team to become stronger and to succeed. The strategic role of weak players emerges if the dynamics for the team develop unfavorably for the team. If the team falls behind, a discouragement effect sets in for the strong player. The player is inclined to throw the towel. This alarms the weak player. The player hoped to be able to free-ride and gain an expected windfall payoff. This payoff is lost if the strong player gives up. At that point the weak player actively seeks to motivate the strong player to perform at its best. |
| Keywords: | tug-of-war, dynamic contest, teams, team contests, free-riding, discouragement effect, asymmetric teams |
| JEL: | D72 D74 H41 |
| Date: | 2026–06–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpi:wpaper:tax-mpg-rps-2026-07 |
| By: | Stefano Barbieri; Yixuan Shi; Sven A. Simon |
| Abstract: | Communication can facilitate coordination within teams in many competitive settings, from team sports to military operations. However, it may leak and reveal intentions to the opponent. We study how this tension shapes behaviour in a team contest, both theoretically and experimentally. Our theory predicts that secure communication plays a dual role: it improves internal coordination while concealing intentions from the op- ponent, thereby raising competition intensity — operationalized as effort investment — for all parties. Our experiment provides causal evidence for these effects. When communication leaks, its concealment role disappears, and teammates trade off co- ordination against predictability. When coordination concerns dominate, teammates should always communicate, but sometimes they choose not to, leading to costly coordination failures. Nevertheless, investment levels remain close to those under secure communication, well above the levels observed without communication. These results suggest that blocking an opponent’s communication may be more effective than spying on it. |
| Keywords: | Coordination; Team contest; In-team communication; Sign stealing; Espionage |
| JEL: | C72 C92 D74 |
| Date: | 2026–05–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpi:wpaper:tax-mpg-rps-2026-05 |
| By: | Genakos, Christos; Kyrkopoulou, Eleni; Papaioannou, Elias |
| Abstract: | We use a unique natural experiment in which families were randomly selected to live in the Olympic Village, constructed for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, to assess the impact of improved neighborhood conditions on academic achievement. Comparing 12–17-year-old students who relocated and attended the new schools with non-selected applicants from the same origin schools across Attica, we find a positive, gender-neutral, and significant effect of moving on overall performance. Educational gains, primarily in language courses, are concentrated among students who previously performed poorly, indicating a “fresh start†effect. |
| Keywords: | Social experimentation; Housing; Neighborhoods; Peer effects; Education |
| JEL: | H43 I2 I3 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:21319 |
| By: | Christopher W. Karvetski; Sheldon S. Huang; Simas Ku\v{c}inskas; Nadja Flechner; Jingyu Hu; Philip Tetlock; Ezra Karger |
| Abstract: | Decision-makers routinely rely on expert judgments accompanied by written explanations, yet explanation quality is difficult to measure at scale. Forecasting tournaments offer a natural testing ground: probabilistic judgments are paired with natural-language rationales and scored against realized outcomes. We introduce Explanation Quality Markers (EQMs), a set of sixty theory-guided reasoning patterns scored by large language models (LLMs). In a pre-registered analysis of over 55, 000 forecast-rationale pairs from a multiyear forecasting tournament, EQMs predict accuracy at both the forecast and forecaster levels, consistently outperforming pre-LLM text-analysis methods. More than 90% of statistically significant pattern-level EQM-accuracy correlations match our directional hypotheses. The signal is asymmetric: EQMs identify likely underperformers more reliably than they distinguish the very best forecasters. Benchmarked against traditional indicators of forecasting skill, EQMs are the strongest predictor at the forecast level and competitive at the forecaster level, though weaker than prior accuracy. Human ratings of rationale quality are less consistently correlated with accuracy and place disproportionate weight on rationale length. Results transfer to an independent forecasting study. EQMs provide a scalable, interpretable method for extracting judgment-relevant information from written explanations. |
| Date: | 2026–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2606.30987 |
| By: | Martina Opalkova (Faculty of Business and Economics, Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic) |
| Abstract: | Sustainability is frequently portrayed as a key driver of consumption among Generation Z, yet empirical evidence on whether sustainable values translate into actual purchasing behaviour remains limited, particularly in performance-oriented product categories. This study addresses this gap by examining the determinants of real purchasing behaviour among Generation Z consumers in the running products market. Using survey data from 400 respondents and applying Principal Component Analysis and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), six latent determinants influencing purchase behaviour are identified. The findings show that actual purchasing behaviour is primarily driven by perceived product quality, durability, comfort, and technological innovation. In contrast, sustainable values show a statistically significant but negative relationship with actual purchasing behaviour, suggesting that sustainability considerations play a comparatively limited role in decision-making within the performance-oriented running products category. These results suggest that sustainability initiatives are more effective when integrated with tangible product performance rather than communicated as standalone value propositions. |
| Keywords: | Consumer decision-making, Purchase behaviour, Sport marketing, Sustainability relevance, Value perception, Behavioural drivers |
| JEL: | M31 D12 Q56 |
| Date: | 2026–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:men:wpaper:111_2026 |