| By: |
Rachel Scarfe (School of Economics, University of Edinburgh);
Carl Singleton (Department of Economics, University of Reading);
Adesola Sunmoni (Department of Economics, University of Reading);
Paul Telemo (School of Economics, University of Edinburgh) |
| Abstract: |
There is an inverted u-shaped relationship between age and wages in most
labour markets and occupations, but the effects of age on productivity are
less clear. We use panel data on the productivity and salaries of all elite
professional footballers (soccer players) in North America to estimate
age-productivity and age-wage profiles, which control for unobserved player
characteristics and for entry and exit from this market, finding stark
differences. While the productivity of footballers tends to peak in their
early to mid-20s and then falls slowly, wages continue to increase throughout
most of their careers, up to age 30, after which they fall rapidly. This
discrepancy has been observed in other labour markets and poses the question:
why are the youngest and oldest workers seemingly underpaid relative to their
productivity? We consider a number of possible mechanisms that could be
responsible without finding a clear culprit. |
| Keywords: |
Labour productivity, Wages, Aging, Major League Soccer |
| JEL: |
J23 J24 J31 J41 Z22 |
| Date: |
2022–09–09 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rdg:emxxdp:em-dp2022-07&r= |