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Testing for competitive balance

Author

Listed:
  • Lee Scyoc

    (University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh)

  • M. Kevin McGee

    (University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh)

Abstract

We present two tests for the hypothesis that a league is competitively balanced, identifying in each case the appropriate statistic as well as its sampling distribution. We then apply these tests to Major League Baseball and the National Football League. We demonstrate how these tests can be applied to full sports leagues, or to just intradivisional play, and to both single season and multiple season outcomes. We also show how one of our statistics is related to existing measures of competitive balance, and note the possibility that, because our statistics have known sampling distributions, knowledge may ultimately allow them to be transformed into measures that are comparable between leagues of different sizes and season lengths.

Suggested Citation

  • Lee Scyoc & M. Kevin McGee, 2016. "Testing for competitive balance," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 50(3), pages 1029-1043, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:50:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s00181-015-0968-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-015-0968-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jeffery Borland, 2003. "Demand for Sport," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 19(4), pages 478-502, Winter.
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    8. Rodney Fort & James Quirk, 2010. "Optimal Competitive Balance in Single-Game Ticket Sports Leagues," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 11(6), pages 589-601, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Young Hoon Lee & Yongdai Kim & Sara Kim, 2019. "A Bias-Corrected Estimator of Competitive Balance in Sports Leagues," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(4), pages 479-508, May.
    2. Francisco Triguero‐Ruiz & Antonio Avila‐Cano, 2023. "On competitive balance in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 70(3), pages 231-248, July.
    3. Dejan Trifunovi? & Vito Pipitone, 0000. "Welfare Maximizing Competitive Balance: the Evidence from Top European Football leagues," Proceedings of International Academic Conferences 11113139, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences.
    4. Dorian Owen & Caitlin Owen, 2017. "Simulation Evidence on Herfindahl-Hirschman Indices as Measures of Competitive Balance," Working Papers 1715, University of Otago, Department of Economics, revised Dec 2017.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Sports; Sampling;

    JEL classification:

    • C46 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Specific Distributions
    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism

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