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Fit to be Tied

Author

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  • Jason Abrevaya

    (Purdue University, abrevaya@purdue.edu)

Abstract

This article examines the incentive effects of different payoff structures in the National Hockey League. A rule change prior to the 1999-2000 season, which changed the way that teams were awarded points in overtime games, provides a natural experiment to test the reaction of teams to a change in the payoff structure. The rule change had the desired effect of increasing excitement during overtime play. This article shows, however, that the rule also had the effect of increasing the frequency of overtime games, an effect predictable from the change in incentives but one not intended by the league.

Suggested Citation

  • Jason Abrevaya, 2004. "Fit to be Tied," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 5(3), pages 292-306, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:5:y:2004:i:3:p:292-306
    DOI: 10.1177/1527002503260560
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Canice Prendergast, 1999. "The Provision of Incentives in Firms," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 37(1), pages 7-63, March.
    2. Beck A. Taylor & Justin G. Trogdon, 2002. "Losing to Win: Tournament Incentives in the National Basketball Association," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 20(1), pages 23-41, January.
    3. Ehrenberg, Ronald G & Bognanno, Michael L, 1990. "Do Tournaments Have Incentive Effects?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(6), pages 1307-1324, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Egon Franck & Philipp Theiler, 2008. "One for sure or three maybe - Empirical evidence for overtime play from Swiss ice hockey," Working Papers 0024, University of Zurich, Center for Research in Sports Administration (CRSA), revised 2010.
    2. Kendall, Graham & Lenten, Liam J.A., 2017. "When sports rules go awry," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 257(2), pages 377-394.
    3. Franck Egon & Theiler Philipp, 2012. "One for Sure or Maybe Three: Empirical Evidence for Overtime Play from a Comparison of Swiss Ice Hockey and the NHL," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 232(3), pages 210-223, June.
    4. Julio del Corral & Juan Prieto-Rodríguez & Rob Simmons, 2010. "The Effect of Incentives on Sabotage: The Case of Spanish Football," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 11(3), pages 243-260, June.
    5. Anurag N. Banerjee & Johan F. M. Swinnen & Alfons Weersink, 2007. "Skating on thin ice: rule changes and team strategies in the NHL," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(2), pages 493-514, May.
    6. Juan D. Carrillo, 2007. "Penalty Shoot-Outs," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 8(5), pages 505-518, October.
    7. Travis J. Lybbert & Troy C. Lybbert & Aaron Smith & Scott Warren, 2012. "Does the Red Flag Rule Induce Risk Taking in Sprint Finishes? Moral Hazard Crashes in Cycling’s Grand Tours," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 13(6), pages 603-618, December.
    8. Chan, Ho Fai & Savage, David A. & Torgler, Benno, 2019. "There and back again: Adaptation after repeated rule changes of the game," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 75(PB).
    9. Carrillo, Juan, 2006. "Penalty Shoot-Outs: Before or After Extra Time?," CEPR Discussion Papers 5579, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. R. Alan Bowman & James Lambrinos & Thomas Ashman, 2018. "Prospective measures of competitive balance application to money lines in the national hockey league," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(46), pages 4925-4936, October.
    11. Michael J. Lopez, 2015. "Inefficiencies in the National Hockey League Points System and the Teams That Take Advantage," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 16(4), pages 410-424, May.
    12. Kurt Rotthoff, 2012. "Bankruptcy behavior in the NFL: does the overtime structure change the strategy of the game?," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 36(3), pages 662-674, July.
    13. Rodney Fort & Young Hoon Lee, 2007. "Structural Change, Competitive Balance, And The Rest Of The Major Leagues," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 45(3), pages 519-532, July.
    14. Wright, Mike, 2014. "OR analysis of sporting rules – A survey," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 232(1), pages 1-8.
    15. Rodney Fort, 2007. "Comments on ``Measuring Parity''," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 8(6), pages 642-651, December.

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    Keywords

    incentive effects; payoff structure;

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