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When the Stadium Goes Silent: How Crowds Affect the Performance of Discriminated Groups

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  • Mauro Caselli
  • Paolo Falco
  • Gianpiero Mattera

Abstract

Using a natural experiment induced by COVID-19, we test how the sudden absence of fans at football games impacts player performance in Italy. We find that African players, who are most commonly targeted by racial harassment, play better when fans are no longer at the stadium. A similar, albeit weaker, effect is detected among black players. Using official records of racist behavior by fans, we show that performance improves the most on teams that were subject to abuse before the lockdown. Our evidence suggests that racist pressure can harm discriminated groups and lower the overall quality of the game.

Suggested Citation

  • Mauro Caselli & Paolo Falco & Gianpiero Mattera, 2023. "When the Stadium Goes Silent: How Crowds Affect the Performance of Discriminated Groups," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 41(2), pages 431-451.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:doi:10.1086/719967
    DOI: 10.1086/719967
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    Cited by:

    1. Gábor Békés & Endre Borza & Márton Fleck, 2024. "Favoritism under multiple sources of social pressure," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 62(4), pages 1748-1769, October.
    2. Chowdhury, Subhasish M. & Jewell, Sarah & Singleton, Carl, 2024. "Can awareness reduce (and reverse) identity-driven bias in judgement? Evidence from international cricket," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    3. Rinne, Ulf & Sonnabend, Hendrik & Wolters, Leonie, 2023. "Customer Discrimination and Ethnic Team Composition," IZA Discussion Papers 16315, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Mauro Caselli & Paolo Falco & Babak Somekh, 2024. "Inside the NBA Bubble: how Black players performed better without fans," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(2), pages 1-20, June.
    5. Carsten Creutzburg & Wolfgang Maennig & Steffen Q. Mueller, 2024. "From bias to bliss: Racial preferences and worker productivity in tennis," Working Papers 075, Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg.

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