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Mixing the princes and the paupers: Pay and performance in the National Basketball Association

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  • R Simmons
  • D J Berri

Abstract

We investigate how team and individual performances of players in the National Basketball Association respond to variations in intra-team pay inequality. By breaking down team dispersion into conditional and expected components, we find that expected pay dispersion has a positive effect on team and individual performance. We find that team and individual performances are essentially orthogonal to conditional pay inequality, counter to the hypotheses of fairness and cohesion proposed in the literature both for sports and general occupations. A change in collective bargaining regime in 1996 had little impact on either team or player productivity.

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  • R Simmons & D J Berri, 2010. "Mixing the princes and the paupers: Pay and performance in the National Basketball Association," Working Papers 611523, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    • Handle: RePEc:lan:wpaper:611523
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    3. Robert Breunig & Bronwyn Garrett-Rumba & Mathieu Jardin & Yvon Rocaboy, 2014. "Wage dispersion and team performance: a theoretical model and evidence from baseball," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(3), pages 271-281, January.
    4. Le Maux, Benoit & Rocaboy, Yvon, 2012. "A simple microfoundation for the utilization of fragmentation indexes to measure the performance of a team," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 116(3), pages 491-493.
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    8. Leif Brandes & Marc Brechot & Egon Franck, 2011. "The Temptation of Social Ties: When Interpersonal Network Transactions Hurt Firm Performance," Working Papers 00159, University of Zurich, Institute for Strategy and Business Economics (ISU), revised 2012.
    9. Jackson P. Lautier, 2023. "A New Framework to Estimate Return on Investment for Player Salaries in the National Basketball Association," Papers 2309.05783, arXiv.org.
    10. Dennis Coates & Petr Parshakov, 2016. "Team Vs. Individual Tournaments: Evidence From Prize Structure In Esports," HSE Working papers WP BRP 138/EC/2016, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
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    13. Julia Müller & Thorsten Upmann, 2017. "Eigenvalue Productivity: Measurement of Individual Contributions in Teams," CESifo Working Paper Series 6679, CESifo.
    14. 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).
    15. Anna Bykova & Dennis Coates, 2020. "Does Experience Matter? Salary Dispersion, Coaching, And Team Performance," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 38(1), pages 188-205, January.
    16. David J. Berri & Brad R. Humphreys & Robert Simmons, 2013. "Valuing the blind side: pay and performance of offensive linemen in the National Football League," Chapters, in: Plácido Rodríguez & Stefan Késenne & Jaume García (ed.), The Econometrics of Sport, chapter 6, pages 99-114, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. Berlinschi, Ruxanda & Schokkaert, Jeroen & Swinnen, Johan, 2013. "When drains and gains coincide: Migration and international football performance," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 1-14.
    18. Julia Müller & Thorsten Upmann & Joachim Prinz, 2013. "Individual Team Productivity - A Conceptual Approach," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 13-183/I, Tinbergen Institute.
    19. Anna Bykova & Dennis Coates, 2022. "Professional team sporting success: do economic and personal freedom provide competitive advantages?," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 323-358, December.
    20. Philippe Cyrenne, 2018. "Salary Inequality, Team Success, League Policies, And The Superstar Effect," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 36(1), pages 200-214, January.
    21. 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.
    22. Dennis Coates & Bernd Frick & Todd Jewell, 2016. "Superstar Salaries and Soccer Success," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 17(7), pages 716-735, October.
    23. Thadeu Gasparetto & Angel Barajas, 2022. "Wage Dispersion and Team Performance: The Moderation Role of Club Size," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 23(5), pages 548-566, June.
    24. Philippe Cyrenne, 2014. "Salary Inequality, Team Success and the Superstar Effect," Departmental Working Papers 2014-02, The University of Winnipeg, Department of Economics.
    25. Frank TENKORANG & Bree L. DORITY & Eddery LAM, 2014. "Nba Endgame: Do Salaries Matter?," Review of Economic and Business Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, issue 14, pages 51-62, December.

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