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Assessing alternative competitive balance measures for sports leagues: a theoretical examination of standard deviations, gini coefficients, & the index of dissimilarity

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Listed:
  • Daniel Mizak

    (Frostburg State University)

  • Armond Rossi

    (Frostburg State University)

  • Anthony Stair

    (Frostburg State University)

Abstract

This note provides a theoretical analysis of the use of standard deviations, Gini coefficients, and the Index of Dissimilarity to assess competitive balance in sports leagues. Limitations are identified for all three techniques. Each of these techniques is found to be affected by the introduction of more teams, unbalanced schedules, and inter-league play.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Mizak & Armond Rossi & Anthony Stair, 2005. "Assessing alternative competitive balance measures for sports leagues: a theoretical examination of standard deviations, gini coefficients, & the index of dissimilarity," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 12(5), pages 1-11.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-04l80002
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martin B. Schmidt & David J. Berri, 2003. "On the Evolution of Competitive Balance: The Impact of an Increasing Global Search," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(4), pages 692-704, October.
    2. Joshua Utt & Rodney Fort, 2002. "Pitfalls to Measuring Competitive Balance With Gini Coefficients," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 3(4), pages 367-373, November.
    3. Martin Schmidt & David Berri, 2002. "Competitive Balance and Market Size in Major League Baseball: A Response to Baseball's Blue Ribbon Panel," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 21(1), pages 41-54, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jean-pascal Gayant & Nicolas Le Pape, 2012. "How to account for changes in the size of Sports Leagues? The Iso Competitive Balance Curves," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 32(2), pages 1715-1723.
    2. Richard Evans, 2014. "A review of measures of competitive balance in the ‘analysis of competitive balance’ literature," Birkbeck Sports Business Centre Working Papers 9, Birkbeck College, Department of Management.
    3. Baek, Hyunmi & Jang, Moonkyoung & Kim, Seongcheol, 2020. "Does rule change cause activity change? An empirical study of online news comments in Korea," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(8).
    4. Liam J. A. Lenten, 2008. "Unbalanced Schedules And The Estimation Of Competitive Balance In The Scottish Premier League," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 55(4), pages 488-508, September.
    5. Misael Martinez & Jonathan Willner, 2017. "Competitive Balance and Consumer Demand in the English Football League," Applied Finance and Accounting, Redfame publishing, vol. 3(2), pages 49-60, August.
    6. Murat Çiftçi, 2015. "Regional Inequality of Sport Facilities in Turkey," Eurasian Academy Of Sciences Social Sciences Journal, Eurasian Academy Of Sciences, vol. 4(4), pages 49-66, July.
    7. Michela Pierini, 2011. "Diritti Tv E Competitive Balance Nel Calcio Professionistico Italiano," Rivista di Diritto ed Economia dello Sport, Centro di diritto e business dello Sport, vol. 7(2), pages 87-113, September.

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