ECON 3090
Sports Economics
Fall 2009

Class Resources

Exam Resources (posted Sept. 18)

Surveys

1. Microeconomics Pre-test [Password: econ3090]
   

Homeworks

Homework Questions (Adobe)
How to Interpret Econometric Results (Shockwave) [posted Sept 9] (PDF)

Suggested Answers (Shockwave) [posted Sept 15]

Homework Questions (Adobe)

Homework #2 Suggested Answers

Homework Questions (Adobe)
Wage Determination Example Overhead [posted October 27]

Homework #3 Suggested Answers

Homework Questions (Adobe)
Homework Questions (MS Word)

Lecture Notes and Additional Readings

1. Introduction and Economics Review
   
   
   Lecture Overheads [Posted Aug. 27]
   Handouts
   How to Interpret Econometric Results (Shockwave) [posted Sept 9] (PDF)
   
   
   • Regression Analysis
     
     • Miles: "Regression with Microsoft Excel 2000" [Highly recommended]
       
     • Pardoe: "Applied Regression Modeling: A Business Approach"
       
     • Sykes: "An Introduction to Regression"
       
     • B. Burt Gerstman: "StatPrimer"
       
     • Hakes: "How do I interpret regression results?" [Highly recommended]
       
     
     
   • Referenced Papers
     
     • Depken (2007): "Another Look at Anti Scalping Laws: Theory and Evidence"
       
     • Depken (2000): "Fan Loyalty and Stadium Funding in Professional Baseball"
       
     • Depken (2000): "Wage disparity and team productivity: evidence from major league baseball"
       
     • Goff, Shughart, Tollison (1997): "Batter Up! Moral Hazard And The Effects Of The Designated Hitter Rule On Hit Batsmen"
       
     • Levitt (1998): "The Hazards Of Moral Hazard: Comment On Goff, Shughart, And Tollison"
       
     • Goff, Shughart, Tollison (1998): "Moral Hazard And The Effects Of The Designated Hitter Rule Revisited"
       
     • Trandel, White,& Klein (1998): "The Effect Of The Designated Hitter Rule On Hit Batsmen: Pitcher's Moral Hazard Or The Team's Cost-Benefit Calculation? A Comment"
       
     • Bradbury and Drinen (2006): "The Designated Hitter, Moral Hazard, and Hit Batters"
       
     • Coates and Depken (2008): "Mega-Events: Is the Texas-Baylor game to Waco what the Super Bowl is to Houston?"
       
2. The Franchises
   
   
   Ticket Price Setting Survey [in class discussion]
   *Reese and Mittelstaedt:"NFL Ticket Prices" [Full Paper]
   
   Handouts (Tables and Graphs)
   Lecture Overheads (Part 1) [Posted Sept. 8] (Shockwave) (PDF)
   Lecture Overheads (Part 2) [Posted Sept. 16] (Shockwave) (PDF)
   Lecture Overheads (Part 3) [Posted Sept. 16] (PDF)
   Lecture Overheads (All Slides) [Posted Sept. 30] (PDF)
   
   Referenced Papers
   
   
   • Ticket Prices
     
     • Quadratic Regression Notes
       
     • Depken: "Salaries, Ticket Prices, and Causation"
       
     • Mike Munger on EconTalk concerning Ticket Scalping (MP3 audio)
       
     • Krautman and Berri: "Can We Find It at the Concessions?"
       
     • Fort: "Inelastic sports pricing"
       
     • Alexander: "Major League Baseball: Monopoly Pricing and Profit-Maximizing Behavior"
       
     • Depken: "Another Look at Anti Scalping Laws: Theory and Evidence"
       
     
     
   • Demand for professional sports
     
     • *Depken: "Fan Loyalty and Stadium Funding in Professional Baseball"
       
     • *Depken: "Fan Loyalty in Professional Football"
       
     • *Rodney Paul, et al: "Attendance in the NY-Penn Baseball League: Effects of Performance, Demographics, and Promotions"
       
     • *McDonald and Rasher: "Does Bat Day Make Cents?"
       
     • Winfree and Fort: "Fan Substitution and the 2004-05 NHL Lockout"
       
     • *Buttine: "Systematic Volatility of Minor League Baseball Attendance"
       
     • *Gifis and Sommers: "Promotions and Attendance in Minor League Baseball" Their data
       
     • Garcia and Rodriguez: "The Determinants of Football Match Attendance Revisited: Empirical Evidence From the Spanish Football League"
       
     
     
   • Quality and Profitability
     
     • Donihue, Findlay,and Newberry: "An Analysis of Attendance at Major League Baseball Spring Training Games"
       
     • McMillan: "NBA spending and fan interest"
       
   
   
   
3. The Leagues
   
   
   Lecture Overheads (Adobe) [Posted Sept. 22]
   Depken: "Ticket Prices and Competition in Major League Baseball"
   MLB Pricing Data
   Big 12 Competitive Balance Data
   
   Referenced Papers
   
   
   
   • Competitive balance (LVA Ch. 5)
     
     • *Perline and Stoldt: Competitive Balance and Conference Realignment"
       
     • *Mizak, et al: "The adjusted churn: an index of competitive balance"
       
     • *Knowles, et al: The Demand for Major League Baseball: A Test of the Uncertainty of Outcome Hypothesis
       
     • Zimblalist: "Competitive Balance in Major League Baseball"
       
     • Sherony, et al: "Competitive Balance in Major League Baseball"
       
     • *Depken and Wilson: "Institutional Change in the NCAA and Competitive Balance in Intercollegiate Football"
       
     
     
   • League rules, institutions, and incentives (Bradbury Ch. 1)
     
     • *Depken and Wilson: "Wherein Lies the Benefit of the Second Referee in the NHL?"
       
     • *Depken: "The Benefit of the Designated Hitter in Professional Baseball"
       
     • *Bradbury and Drinen: "The Designated Hitter, Moral Hazard, and Hit Batters"
       
     
     
   • Franchise location and implications
     
     • Depken: "Fan Loyalty in Professional Sports: An Extension to the National Football League"
       
   
   
4. The Managers (Notes)
   
   
   Lecture Overheads [Posted Sept 29]
   
   Referenced Papers
   
   
   
   • Managerial Quality
     
     • Porter and Scully: "Measuring Managerial Efficiency: The Case of Baseball"
       
     • Scully: "Managerial Efficiency and Survivability in Professional Sports"
       
     • Horowitz: "On the Manager as Principal Clerk?"
       
     • *Depken and Wilson: "Coaching Efficiency in NCAA Division IA Football"
       
       
   • Peer Effects
     
     • *Depken and Haglund: Peer Effects in Team Sports: Empirical Evidence from NCAA Relay Teams"
       
     • *Depken and Mackey: "Driver Success in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: The Impact of Multi-Car Teams"
       
       
   
   
5. The Players
   
   
   Lecture Overheads Part I [posted October 19]
   Lecture Overheads Part II [posted October 19]
   Lecture Overheads Part III [posted October 19]
   
   Wage Determination Example Overhead [posted October 27]
   
   A Real Prisoner's Dilemma [video]
   Lance Armstrong on Doping [video]
   Floyd Landis on Doping [video]
   
   Referenced Papers
   
   
   • Player value and salary determination (LVA Ch. 8 and Ch. 9)
     
     • Depken and Wilson: "Labor Markets in the Classroom: Marginal Revenue Product in Major League Baseball"
       
     • Depken: "Free Agency in Professional Sports"
       
     
     
   • Wage inequality (handouts)
     
     • *Depken: "Wage disparity and team productivity: evidence from major league baseball"
       
   • Steroids and performance enhancing drugs (Handouts)
     
     • *Gould and Kaplan: "The Peer Effect of Jose Canseco"
       
     
     
   • Age and race in athletic labor markets (LVA Ch. 10)
     
     • *Depken and Ford: "Customer-Based Discrimination against Major League Baseball Players"
       
   
   
6. College athletics and academics (LVA Ch. 11, handouts)
   
   
   Lecture Overheads [Posted November 10]
   
   Referenced Papers
   
   Depken and Wilson: "NCAA Enforcement"
   Depken and Williams: "Spillovers from the Gridiron: Women's Basketball"
   Title IX Video watched in class
   

Some easy-to-read econometrics papers: