Decentralization and football

Santiago Lago-Peñas, Carlos Lago Peñas and Santiago Lago Peñas

No 1801, Working Papers. Collection A: Public economics, governance and decentralization from Universidade de Vigo, GEN - Governance and Economics research Network

Abstract: We argue that decentralization of economic and political power makes a substantial difference in football. We demonstrate, with analyses of 35 European democratic countries over the period 1950–2010, that regional autonomy boosts the competition among clubs from different regions and results in a greater competitive balance of domestic football leagues. This first-moment effect creates an advantage for clubs from decentralized countries in international competitions. Evidence from the first 18 editions of the UEFA Champions League shows that clubs from decentralized countries have a greater chance of winning, or at least playing in the final, than those from centralized countries.

Keywords: Competitive balance; Decentralization; Football; Identities. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H30 H50 H62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 16 pages
Date: 2018-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-spo
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http://infogen.webs.uvigo.es/WP/WP1801.pdf First version, 2018 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Decentralization and Football (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gov:wpaper:1801

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