nep-spo New Economics Papers
on Sports and Economics
Issue of 2022‒09‒05
two papers chosen by
Humberto Barreto
DePauw University

  1. A general framework to quantify the event importance in multi-event contests By Goller, Daniel; Heiniger, Sandro
  2. The Impact of Team Incentives on Performance in Graduate School: Evidence from Two Pilot RCTs By John List; Rohen Shah

  1. By: Goller, Daniel; Heiniger, Sandro
    Abstract: We propose a statistical framework for quantifying the importance of single events that do not provide intermediate rewards but offer implicit incentives through the reward structure at the end of a multi-event contest. Applying the framework to primary elections in the US, where earlier elections have greater importance and influence, we show that schedule variations can mitigate the problem of front-loading elections. When applied to European football, we demonstrate the utility and meaningfulness of quantified event importance in relation to the in-match performance of contestants, to improve outcome prediction and to provide an early indication of public interest.
    Keywords: Event importance, Football, Front-loading, Incentives, Multi-event contest
    JEL: C15 C53 D72 Z20
    Date: 2022–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usg:econwp:2022:04&r=
  2. By: John List; Rohen Shah
    Abstract: In organizations, teams are ubiquitous. "Weakest Link" and "Best Shot" are incentive schemes that tie a group member's compensation to the output of their group's least and most productive member, respectively. In this paper, we test the impact of these incentive schemes by conducting two pilot RCTs (one in-person, one online), which included more than 250 graduate students in a graduate math class. Students were placed in study groups of three or four students, and then groups were randomized to either control, Weakest Link, or Best Shot incentives. We find evidence that such incentive approaches can affect test scores, both in-person and online.
    Date: 2022
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:feb:framed:00760&r=

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