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Rethinking Restrictions On Player Mobility In Major League Baseball

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  • Joel G. Maxcy

Abstract

This article considers the possibility that transactions costs and asymmetric income effects have altered the distribution of talent in the aftermath of institutional changes in Major League Baseball. This contradicts the invariance principle of Coase's theorem. Empirical evidence tracking player movement and competitive balance over the past 50 years conclusively supports these stands. Free agency, when permitted to proceed with limited intereference, has increased the rate that productive players transfer and has also improved some measures of competitive balance. Competitive balance is also shown to have improved with the implementation of the draft. Policy prescriptions calling for increased restrictions on player mobility are ill advised.

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  • Joel G. Maxcy, 2002. "Rethinking Restrictions On Player Mobility In Major League Baseball," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 20(2), pages 145-159, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:coecpo:v:20:y:2002:i:2:p:145-159
    DOI: 10.1093/cep/20.2.145
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    Cited by:

    1. Joel G. Maxcy, 2006. "Revenue Sharing in MLB: The Effect on Player Transfers," Working Papers 0615, International Association of Sports Economists;North American Association of Sports Economists.
    2. Martin Schmidt, 2011. "Institutional Change and Factor Movement in Major League Baseball: An Examination of the Coase Theorem’s Invariance Principle," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 39(3), pages 187-205, November.
    3. Helena Fornwagner, 2017. "Incentives to lose revisited: The NHL and its tournament incentives," Working Papers 2017-07, Faculty of Economics and Statistics, Universität Innsbruck.
    4. Jennifer K. Ashcraft & Craig A. Depken, 2020. "The introduction of the reserve clause in Major League Baseball: evidence of its impact on select player salaries during the 1880s," Cliometrica, Journal of Historical Economics and Econometric History, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC), vol. 14(1), pages 105-128, January.
    5. Joel Maxcy, 2004. "Motivating long-term employment contracts: risk management in major league baseball," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(2), pages 109-120.
    6. Philip L. Hersch & Jodi E. Pelkowski, 2014. "Does General Manager Networking Affect Choice of Trade Partners in Major League Baseball?," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 15(6), pages 601-616, December.
    7. Fornwagner, Helena, 2019. "Incentives to lose revisited: The NHL and its tournament incentives," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 75(PB).
    8. John R. Crooker & Aju J. Fenn, 2007. "Sports Leagues and Parity When League Parity Generates Fan Enthusiasm," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 8(2), pages 139-164, May.
    9. Geoffrey N Tuck & Athol R Whitten, 2013. "Lead Us Not into Tanktation: A Simulation Modelling Approach to Gain Insights into Incentives for Sporting Teams to Tank," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(11), pages 1-10, November.
    10. Jan Šíma & Jan Procházka, 2011. "Compared Competitive Balance Evolution in the Dutch and the Czech Football Leagues between 1970 and 2010," Ekonomika a Management, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2011(2).
    11. Jan Šíma, 2013. "Static Competitive Balance of Three Chosen Central European Football Leagues," Ekonomika a Management, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2013(4).
    12. Fort, Rodney & Maxcy, Joel & Diehl, Mark, 2016. "Uncertainty by regulation: Rottenberg׳s invariance principle," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(3), pages 454-467.
    13. Martin B. Schmidt, 2021. "The Competitive Returns To The Global Search For Talent: Professional Sports Markets And Foreigners," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 59(1), pages 396-419, January.
    14. Brad R. Humphreys & Li Zhou, 2015. "The Louis–Schmelling Paradox and the League Standing Effect Reconsidered," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 16(8), pages 835-852, December.
    15. Philippe Cyrenne, 2013. "Player Salaries, Player Mobility and the Invariance Principle: Evidence from the National Hockey League," Departmental Working Papers 2013-04, The University of Winnipeg, Department of Economics.
    16. Joel G. Maxcy, 2007. "Progressive Revenue Sharing in MLB: The Effect on Player Transfers," Working Papers 0728, International Association of Sports Economists;North American Association of Sports Economists.
    17. Joel Maxcy, 2009. "Progressive Revenue Sharing in Major League Baseball: The Effect on Player Transfers and Talent Distribution," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 35(3), pages 275-297, November.
    18. Antonio Avila‐Cano & Francisco Triguero‐Ruiz, 2023. "On the control of competitive balance in the major European football leagues," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(2), pages 1254-1263, March.
    19. Travis Lee, 2010. "Competitive Balance in the National Football League After the 1993 Collective Bargaining Agreement," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 11(1), pages 77-88, February.
    20. Meletakos, Panagiotis & Chatzicharistos, Dimitrios & Apostolidis, Nikolaos & Manasis, Vasilios & Bayios, Ioannis, 2016. "Foreign players and competitive balance in Greek basketball and handball championships," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 391-401.
    21. Lee, Travis, 2020. "Competitive Balance in the National Hockey League after Unrestricted Free Agency and the Salary Cap," MPRA Paper 108400, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    22. Rodney Fort & Joel Maxcy, 2003. "“Competitive Balance in Sports Leagues: An Introductionâ€," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 4(2), pages 154-160, May.

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