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The key to the "Moneyball" phenomenon: What are the determinants of the level of effort in absence of fi nancial motivation in professional football?

Author

Listed:
  • Zaytseva, I.

    (HSE University, Moscow, Russia)

  • Stupin, M.

    (HSE University, Moscow, Russia)

Abstract

Football provides a rich dataset for the analysis of labour market problems. Of particular interest are situations where the labour market is inefficient. Previously documented by the literature case of football labor market inefficiency, also known as the "Moneyball" effect, led us to the question of how players' incentives work in the absence of financial incentives to exert a particular kind of effort. For football, this type of effort has become the distance covered in a match, which is not valued by the market, but has a positive effect on the likelihood of a team win. To answer the question about player incentives, we identify three groups of factors: motivational, situational, and external, and use data from the 2015-2019 seasons of the German Bundesliga to study the impact of these factors on the level of effort in terms of distance covered. We were particularly interested in studying a non-financial motivation of players; so we hypothesize that players can share the values of the club and its fans by putting more effort into the derby matches that are important for the club. The obtained results allow us to explain the persistence of the "Moneyball" phenomenon over time and to determine the factors affecting the players' choice of unpaid efforts.

Suggested Citation

  • Zaytseva, I. & Stupin, M., 2023. "The key to the "Moneyball" phenomenon: What are the determinants of the level of effort in absence of fi nancial motivation in professional football?," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 60(3), pages 12-26.
  • Handle: RePEc:nea:journl:y:2023:i:60:p:12-26
    DOI: 10.31737/22212264_2023_3_12-26
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Michela Ponzo & Vincenzo Scoppa, 2018. "Does the Home Advantage Depend on Crowd Support? Evidence From Same-Stadium Derbies," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 19(4), pages 562-582, May.
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    4. Ben Baumer & Andrew Zimbalist, 2014. "Quantifying Market Inefficiencies in the Baseball Players’ Market," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 40(4), pages 488-498, September.
    5. Cade Massey & Richard H. Thaler, 2013. "The Loser's Curse: Decision Making and Market Efficiency in the National Football League Draft," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(7), pages 1479-1495, July.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    football; Moneyball; players' effort; incentives; non-financial motivation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Z22 - Other Special Topics - - Sports Economics - - - Labor Issues
    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations

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