The
Oxford Handbook of Sports Economics: The Economics of Sports Volume 1
Stephen Shmanske and Leo Kahane have brought together nearly all of the important
authors in the quickly growing field of Sports Economics to contribute chapters to this
two-volume set.
The result is truly informative in its content and path breaking in its importance to
the field. Anyone contemplating research in the field of sports economics will find the
works in these volumes to provide both ample background in subject after subject and
numerous suggestions for future avenues of research.
The editors have recognized two ways that economics
and sports interact. First, economic analysis has helped everyone understand many of the
peculiar institutions in sports. And second, quality data about individual productivity,
salaries, career histories, teamwork, and managerial behavior has helped economists study
topics as varied as the economics of discrimination, salary dispersion, and antitrust
policy. These two themes of economics helping sports and sports helping economics provide
the organizational structure to the two-volume set.
The reader will find that sports economists employ
or comment on practically every field in economics. Labor Economics comes into play in the
areas of salary formation, salary dispersion, and discrimination. Baseball's history and
the NCAA are studied with Industrial Organization and Antitrust. Public Finance and
Contingent Value Modeling come into play in the study of stadium finance and franchise
location. The Efficient Market Hypothesis is examined with data from gambling markets.
Macroeconomic effects are studied with data from mega events like the Super Bowl, The
World Cup, and the Olympics. The limits of Econometrics are pushed and illustrated with
superb data in many of the papers herein. Topics in Applied microeconomics like demand
estimation and price discrimination are also covered in several of the included papers.
Game Theory, measurement of production functions, and measurement of managerial efficiency
all come into play. Talented authors in each of these fields have made contributions to
these volumes.
The volumes are also rich from the point of view of
the sports fan. Every major team sport is covered, and many interesting comparisons can be
made especially between the North American League organization and the European-style
promotion and relegation leagues. Golf, NASCAR, College athletics, Women's sports, the
Olympics, and even bowling are represented in these pages. There is literally something
for everyone.
Table of Contents
Volume 1: Economics of Sports
Part One: Economics of Leagues and Contest
Design
1. Economics of League Design: Open versus Closed
Systems by Stefan Szymanski
2. Competitive Balance by Brad R. Humphreys and Nicholas M. Watanabe
3. Club Objectives, Competitive Balance and the Invariance Proposition by Stefan Kesenne
4. Theory of the Big Dance: The Playoff Payoff In Pro Sports Leagues by John Vrooman
Part Two: Economics of Major League Sports
Section 1: Baseball
5. Baseball's Antitrust Exemption: History and
Current Relevance by Roger D. Blair and Jessica S. Haynes
6. The Reserve Clause and Labor Mobility by Paul D. Staudohar
Section 2: Basketball
7. Salary Caps and Luxury Taxes by Dennis Coates
and Bernd Frick
8. International Labor Mobility and the National Basketball Association by Evan Osborne
Section 3: Hockey
9. The Demand for Violence in Hockey by Duane W.
Rockerbie
10. Hockey: Game Design and Overtime by Jason Abrevaya
Section 4: Football
11. Field Position and Strategy in American
Football by Kevin G. Quinn
12. Network Television Revenue Sharing and Competitive Balance in the NFL by Ira Horowitz
and G. E. Whittenburg
13. Competing Leagues, Mergers, and Expansions by Aju J. Fenn
Section 5: Soccer
14. The Bosman Ruling and Labour Mobility in
Football (Soccer)
by John Goddard, Peter J. Sloane and John O.S. Wilson
15. Labour Supply and Human Capital Formation in Professional Team Sports:
Evidence from the FA Premier League by Bill Gerrard
Part Three: Economics of Other Sports
16. Remembering Three Economic Studies on
Professional Golf by Matthew Hood
17. Economics of NASCAR by Andrew Abere, Peter Bronsteen and Kenneth G. Elzinga
Part Four: Economics of College Sports
18. To Be or Not to Be: The NCAA as a Cartel by
Robert D. Tollison
19. What Does Intercollegiate Athletics Do To or For Colleges and Universities?
by Malcolm Getz and John Siegfried
20. Is March Madness Contagious? Post Season Play and Attendance in NCAA Division I
Basketball by Craig A. Depken, II
21. Gender Equity in Intercollegiate Athletics: Economic Considerations and Possible Fixes
by Andrew Zimbalist
Part Five: Economics of Mega Events
22. Economics of the Olympics by Peter Dawson
23. The Economics of the World Cup by Rob Simmons and Christian Deutscher
24. Economics of the Super Bowl by Victor A. Matheson
Part Six: Economics of Refereeing
25. Career Duration in Professional Football: The
Case of German Soccer Referees by Bernd Frick
552 pages, Hardcover