Heterogeneous Contestants and the Intensity of Tournaments

Johannes Berger and Petra Nieken

Journal of Sports Economics, 2016, vol. 17, issue 7, 631-660

Abstract: We empirically investigate whether tournaments between heterogeneous contestants are less intense. To test our hypotheses, we use professional sports data from the TOYOTA Handball-Bundesliga, the major handball league in Germany. Based on sports betting odds, we estimate the differences in winning probabilities of the competing teams and find evidence for a negative impact of the matchup’s heterogeneity on the intensity of the game. The decrease is significant not only at the beginning but also toward the end of the game. Further analysis shows that the overall intensity decrease is almost entirely driven by the reaction of the ex ante favorite team.

Keywords: tournament; heterogeneity; incentives; sports economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (24)

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Working Paper: Heterogeneous Contestants and Effort Provision in Tournaments - an Empirical Investigation with Professional Sports Data (2010)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:jospec:v:17:y:2016:i:7:p:631-660

DOI: 10.1177/1527002514538639

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