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Caitlin Clark's surprising economic impact

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  • Stephenson, E. Frank

Abstract

Increases in attendance for University of Iowa's women's basketball games caused by star player Caitlin Clark have led to claims of large economic benefits for Iowa City. This paper uses daily hotel occupancy data to analyze the visitor inflow arising from Clark's stardom. The findings show a surprising pattern: hotel occupancy did increase substantially during Clark's junior season but showed a much smaller increase during her senior season, even with considerably higher game attendance. Local fans substituting from men's games to women's games, thereby leaving fewer women's basketball seats available for out-of-town visitors, appears to explain at least some of the smaller hotel occupancy effect in Clark's senior season.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephenson, E. Frank, 2024. "Caitlin Clark's surprising economic impact," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:243:y:2024:i:c:s0165176524004105
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2024.111926
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Tim Wallrafen & Tim Pawlowski & Christian Deutscher, 2019. "Substitution in Sports: The Case of Lower Division Football Attendance," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(3), pages 319-343, April.
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    4. Lauren R. Heller & E. Frank Stephenson, 2021. "How Does the Super Bowl Affect Host City Tourism?," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 22(2), pages 183-201, February.
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    6. John Charles Bradbury & Dennis Coates & Brad R. Humphreys, 2023. "The impact of professional sports franchises and venues on local economies: A comprehensive survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(4), pages 1389-1431, September.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Caitlin Clark; Hotel occupancy; Attendance; Economic impact;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Z20 - Other Special Topics - - Sports Economics - - - General
    • Z30 - Other Special Topics - - Tourism Economics - - - General

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