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A die-hard aristocracy: competitive balance in Italian soccer, 1929-2009

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  • Paolo Di Betta
  • Carlo Amenta

Abstract

We will present two measures of the competitive balance in professional Italian soccer, one based on the a club's historical rankings and one based on points scored per season. We will calculate and illustrate their characteristics for the Italian first division (the Serie A) between 1929 and 2009. Using the cumulated rankings of the 60 clubs which have taken part in the Serie A we show that Italian soccer is strongly characterized by a self-reinforcing mechanism of dominance that has created an aristocracy of at most ten strong clubs. We also show that increasing the number of promoted clubs could have an innovative impact. Our results imply that each season is fiercely fought, and this level of competition could be further increased with a smaller number of clubs, given an appropriate turnover of promoted clubs. However, a policy of this kind would introduce a dilemma between the desire to foster a season's competitive balance and the reduction in the number of matches –a clear source of revenue. We'll look at one feature of the new sharing rule on television revenue still waiting more extensive empirical research. Our results cast some doubt on the weight given to historical competitive balance in the introduction of the sharing rule effective as of season 2010-11. The relevance given to a club’s history does not contrast with the extant aristocracy and so giving seasonal competitive balance more space within the sharing rule may hamper the bigger clubs' dominance. 1. Motivation and research question - 2. Literature review - 3. The database - 4. Two Herfindahl indexes to measure competitive balance - 5. A self-reinforcing mechanism? - 6. The innovative push from newly-promoted clubs - 7. Conclusions

Suggested Citation

  • Paolo Di Betta & Carlo Amenta, 2010. "A die-hard aristocracy: competitive balance in Italian soccer, 1929-2009," Rivista di Diritto ed Economia dello Sport, Centro di diritto e business dello Sport, vol. 6(2), pages 13-40, Settembre.
    • Handle: RePEc:rde:rivdes:201002dibetta_amenta
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    Cited by:

    1. Carlo Bellavite Pellegrini & Raul Caruso & Marco Di Domizio, 2021. "Relative wages, payroll structure and performance in soccer. Evidence from Italian Serie A (2007-2019)," DISCE - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Politica Economica dipe0015, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    2. Raul Caruso & Marco Di Domizio & Domenico Rossignoli, 2017. "Aggregate wages of players and performance in Italian Serie A," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 34(3), pages 515-531, December.
    3. Alessandro Baroncelli & Raul Caruso, 2011. "The Organization And Economics Of Italian Serie A: A Brief Overall View," Rivista di Diritto ed Economia dello Sport, Centro di diritto e business dello Sport, vol. 7(2), pages 67-85, September.
    4. Caruso, Raul & Carlo, Bellavite Pellegrini & Marco, Di Domizio, 2016. "Does diversity in the payroll affect soccer teams’ performance? Evidence from the Italian Serie A," MPRA Paper 75644, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Marco Di Domizio & Carlo Bellavite Pellegrini & Raul Caruso, 2022. "Payroll dispersion and performance in soccer: A seasonal perspective analysis for Italian Serie A (2007–2021)," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 40(3), pages 513-525, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    competitive balance; professional soccer; Herfindahl index; Pareto regression;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C40 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - General
    • D40 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - General
    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism

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