nep-spo New Economics Papers
on Sports and Economics
Issue of 2024‒05‒06
six papers chosen by
Humberto Barreto, DePauw University


  1. Consumer Perceptions Matter: A Case Study of an Anomaly in English Football By J. James Reade; Jan C. van Ours
  2. Examining the Complex History, Evolution of Journalism Coverage of Cal Women’s Athletics By Coleman, Benjamin
  3. Predicting Full Retirement Attainment of NBA Players By Giorgos Foutzopoulos; Nikolaos Pandis; Michail Tsagris
  4. Beliefs that Entertain By Ashvin Gandhi; Paola Giuliano; Eric Guan; Quinn Keefer; Chase McDonald; Michaela Pagel; Joshua Tasoff
  5. Legendary Hotchkiss Wightman Revolutionized Game (Tennis) By Caparaz, Dean
  6. Missy Franklin, Olympic Swimmer By Rathi, Devanshi

  1. By: J. James Reade (Department of Economics, University of Reading); Jan C. van Ours (Erasmus School of Economics, Tinbergen Institute (Rotterdam) and ECASE (Erasmus Center for Applied Sports Economics), the Netherlands)
    Abstract: In 1983 England’s fifth-tier football competition introduced a two-points-for-a- home-win and three-points-for-an-away-win reward system. This system was abolished after three seasons. The anomalous point system may have been introduced to reduce home advantage but the reasons are not fully clear and neither are the reasons for abolishing the system shortly after its introduction. We find that the new point system did not affect match outcomes but it did influence match attendance negatively. We speculate that the alternative point system was perceived as unfair to potential buyers of seasonal tickets or individual match tickets some of whom as a response decided to avoid watching the game in person. Consumer perceptions seem to matter.
    Keywords: consumer behaviour, sports, football, performance
    JEL: D12 L83 Z21
    Date: 2024–04–16
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rdg:emxxdp:em-dp2024-03&r=spo
  2. By: Coleman, Benjamin
    Keywords: Arts and Humanities, Sports, Cal Women's Athletics, Athletics, 150w, Basketball, Journalism, swimming, lacrosse
    Date: 2024–04–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:cshedu:qt2cj3x06p&r=spo
  3. By: Giorgos Foutzopoulos; Nikolaos Pandis; Michail Tsagris
    Abstract: The aim of this analysis is to predict whether an NBA player will be active in the league for at least 10 years so as to be qualified for NBA’s full retirement scheme which allows for the maximum benefit payable by law. We collected per game statistics for players during their second year, drafted during the years 1999 up to 2006, for which information on their career longetivity is known. By feeding these statistics of the sophomore players into statistical and machine learning algorithms we select the important statistics and manage to accomplish a satisfactory predictability performance. Further, we visualize the effect of each of the selected statistics on the estimated probability of staying in the league for more than 10 years
    Keywords: NBA, career duration, exit discrimination
    JEL: C41 C10 L83
    Date: 2024–04–20
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crt:wpaper:2403&r=spo
  4. By: Ashvin Gandhi; Paola Giuliano; Eric Guan; Quinn Keefer; Chase McDonald; Michaela Pagel; Joshua Tasoff
    Abstract: Economic research on entertainment is scant despite its large share of time use. We test economic theories of belief-based utility in the context of video-game engagement. Using data on 2.8 million matches from League of Legends, we find evidence supporting reference-dependent preferences, loss aversion, preferences for surprise and suspense, preferences for clumped surprise, and flow theory from psychology. We then leverage our estimated model and an evolutionary algorithm to find the information-revealing process that maximizes player engagement. We find that the optimal version of the game has increased game play equivalent to 43% of the winner-loser gap.
    JEL: D8 D9
    Date: 2024–04
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32295&r=spo
  5. By: Caparaz, Dean
    Keywords: Architecture, Arts and Humanities, 150w, UCB, Women's Tennis
    Date: 2024–04–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:cshedu:qt3hc8p7vx&r=spo
  6. By: Rathi, Devanshi
    Keywords: Arts and Humanities, 150w, UCB, Women's Tennis
    Date: 2024–04–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:cshedu:qt8fm70496&r=spo

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