Contents for IJSF Issue 8:2

Entire issue of IJSF 8:2
Authors: Arne Feddersen, Wolfgang Maennig, Tim Pawlowski, Oliver Budzinski, Pamela Wicker, Joachim Prinz, Daniel Weimar, Christian Deutscher, Thorsten Upmann, Sungil Hong, Michael Mondello, Dennis Coates, Michael C. Davis, Craig Palsson, Joseph Price
Abstract:This is the entire issue in PDF format that you can download

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Employment Effects of the Olympic Games in Atlanta 1996 Reconsidered, pp. 95-111
Authors: Arne Feddersen and Wolfgang Maennig
Abstract:This paper investigates the regional economic impact of the 1996 Olympic Games in Georgia. It questions the findings of Hotchkiss, Moore, and Zobay (2003), who identify significant positive effects of the Olympics on employment in Georgia/USA by first challenging their approach that used a level shift model with no trend inclusion. Second, the original trend regressions are modified to capture spline trend shifts. Third, a nonparametric identification strategy using complex continuous treatment measures extends the original study. After controlling for the two concerns and extending the empirical strategy, this paper is not able to reject the hypothesis that there was no employment boost in Georgia caused by the Olympics.

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The Monetary Value of Competitive Balance for Sport Consumers: A Stated Preference Approach to European Professional Football, pp. 112-123
Authors: Tim Pawlowski and Oliver Budzinski
Abstract:Ever since the pioneering work of Rottenberg (1956) and Neale (1964), the uncertainty of outcome hypothesis (UOH) has played a major role in the economic analysis of professional sport leagues. However, decades of empirical research have not been successful in establishing clear evidence for the importance of competitive balance (CB) for attendance or TV viewers in European professional football. In order to find possible reasons for the gap between the UOH and (the lack of) its empirical validation, our paper adopts a stated preference approach focused on the fans’ perception of CB and its relevance in three European professional football leagues. The results indicate that a tipping point/threshold value of CB exists and that crossing this threshold can lead to massive demand reactions. However, since the threshold has not been reached in the leagues included in the sample, the paper provides a possible explanation for the above mentioned gap.

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No Pain, No Gain? Effort and Productivity in Professional Soccer, pp. 124-139
Authors: Pamela Wicker, Joachim Prinz, Daniel Weimar, Christian Deutscher, and Thorsten Upmann
Abstract:Several determinants of player values like productivity and human capital have been investigated in previous research; however, the influence of individual effort has been neglected. This study assumes that effort could be a signaling device and analyzes the effect of effort on market values of soccer players. Secondary data on player statistics and market values from the 2011/2012 season and the first half of the 2012/2013 season of the German Bundesliga were collected (n=877). Technical innovations that record routes and running distances in soccer allow using total running distance and number of intensive runs as effort measures. The results showed that effort had an insignificant or negative impact on logged market values and changes in market values. Only the interaction between intensive runs and tackling rate had a positive effect on logged market values, but not on changes in market values.

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An Examination of the Effects of the Recent Economic Crisis on Major League Baseball Attendance Demand, pp. 140-156
Authors: Sungil Hong, Michael Mondello, and Dennis Coates
Abstract:This paper investigates the effects of the recent economic crisis on Major League Baseball (MLB) attendance during the 2008 and 2009 seasons, adopting the composite index of coincident indicators released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia to capture the impact of economic circumstances. Major advantages of the coincident indexes are the ability to specify monthly changes in state economic conditions, as well as combining the information from several economic indicators. The estimates for the coincident indicators suggest the economic downturn drove a fall in attendance of about 6.5%, compared to the reported decline of 6.77%. The success of the composite index in explaining the impact of the recent economic crisis on attendance in MLB suggests the indicator is a viable proxy for income in game attendance demand studies.

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Taxing the Opposition: Cactus League Attendance and the Efficiency of the ‘Cubs Tax’, pp. 157-170
Authors: Michael C. Davis, Craig Palsson, and Joseph Price
Abstract:In 2010, a plan to finance a new spring training stadium for the Cubs through a ticket surcharge on all games in the Cactus League was proposed. We find that the Cubs increase attendance when they are the away team by about 37%. Thus, the surcharge would be economically justified as long as the price elasticity of tickets is less than 0.32, which many prior studies find to be the case. This tax provides one of the few examples in which the cost of a subsidized stadium would be born primarily by the group that benefits the most from the arrival of the subsidized team.

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