Sports Economics Review最新文献

Previous research shows that mood-altering events, such as sports results, elections outcomes and natural disasters, impact fertility, crime rate, and investor behaviour. In this paper, we use recent Canadian Birth Statistics and the National Hockey League (NHL) results to examine the link between sports events and short-term fertility spikes. In addition, using betting odds, we differentiate among unexpected wins, unexpected losses, and expected outcomes, as a test for the relevance of the Prospect Theory to this context. Our dataset is a daily panel, following all the seven Canadian Census Metropolitan Areas with a team in the NHL, from 2008 to 2019. In our panel fixed effects estimations, we account for the day of the week and all statutory federal and provincial holidays of Canada. In the estimations with raw NHL results, the coefficients of interest ultimately lose their statistical significance. In the specifications accounting for expectations, we find a statistically significant association with fertility for unexpected wins, and statistically insignificant coefficients for unexpected losses as well as expected NHL outcomes. In light of the results, we propose the greater likelihood of pre-game social gatherings on sports nights and celebratory sex after the euphoria of an unexpected win, as the possible channels of impact.

We study the “groups of three” tournament format which was planned to be implemented in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Finally, FIFA resigned from the format because its implementation is highly likely to lead to collusion (match-fixing). In our paper, we show that some modifications to this format may significantly reduce the risk of collusion. Such a reduction can be achieved by the following two innovative changes: random tie-breaking based on the goal-difference along with dynamic scheduling. Our Monte Carlo simulations show that the expected number of matches with high risk of collusion is reduced from 5.5 in the FIFA's initial proposal to 0.26 in our proposed design.

In US-based studies focusing on the impact of new sports stadiums on attendance, a recurring observation is the temporary nature of the initial positive effect, commonly described as a novelty or honeymoon effect. This paper revisits the attendance effects of new sports stadiums in a European sports league, i.e. the top tier of Dutch professional football. Analyzing data over a period of three decades the main conclusion is that for many new stadiums the positive attendance effect persists. There is no transient novelty effect but a long-lasting positive attendance effect of new football stadiums.

This study investigates the impact of the league standing effect on Major League Baseball game attendance in a more nuanced way than previously analyzed. We define various standings-based states that consider the home team's positioning in their respective playoff race and estimate the effects these standings-based goals have on game attendance. Using simulation to produce rest-of-season and postseason projections, we find that teams actively fighting to make the playoffs have higher attendances, a result that is consistent throughout the sample period and throughout the season. We also find that playing for a division title has a positive effect on attendance, but only for teams that have not won their division in recent seasons and only during the final month of the season. Other postseason considerations, such as improving seeding and finishing with the best overall record, also show evidence of impacting attendance, but again just during the final month of the season. Non-playoff standings-based goals, such as finishing with a winning record or improving record over the previous season, show no evidence of positively impacting attendance, except in the later years of the sample period. Finally, we consider the impact of changes made to MLB's playoff format prior to 2012, finding a net positive effect on league attendance. We also uncover shifting fan preferences related to competing for a playoff spot and winning their division. Ultimately, we provide valuable insights into the league standing effect, which has implications for other leagues considering changes in their postseason formats.

This paper looks at crime in Washington D.C. after the Washington Bullets NBA basketball team changed its name to the Washington Wizards in 1997. The team’s owner changed the name because he believed that the Bullets name promoted gun violence. The name change was combined with a team-sponsored community anti-violence campaign in hopes that these changes would reduce gun violence in Washington. We examine the impact of these changes on Washington crime using synthetic control models. Our analysis suggests that the name change and anti-violence campaign had no effect on murder in Washington.

We empirically examine the effect of boat length upon the race times in the biennial Newport to Bermuda sailing event. We find that boat length has an economically and statistically significant negative effect upon elapsed times for race participants. Specifically, each foot of boat length relates to a 35-min reduction in elapsed time. We find no similarly significant effects upon the corrected times utilized to determine actual finishing ranks for participating boats, however, which may be indicative of the quality of the handicapping methodology employed by the race sponsors. We further examine the effect of boat domicile upon race times, finding a lack of any disadvantage in terms of elapsed time for non-US boats, while at the same time finding a disadvantage for their corrected time (implying they are handicapped relative to US boats). We subsequently find statistical evidence of an interaction effect between US-domiciled boats and boat length on elapsed times in the regatta. This may suggest evidence in support of the Alchian-Allen effect, where only high-quality non-US boats and crews are “exported” for race participation.