Rankings, Random Successes, and Individual Performance

Stefan Legge () and Lukas Schmid ()

No 1340, Economics Working Paper Series from University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science

Abstract: Rankings have become increasingly important over the past decades and impose a sharp distinction between success and failure. In this paper we examine the effects of ranking positions and great successes on individual performance by using a rich set of data on World Cup alpine ski races for the period of 1992-2013. We apply a regression discontinuity design and exploit close races as a source of randomized treatment. Our results suggest substantial short-run effects of randomly assigned podium finishes on performance, especially for racers in the middle of the skill distribution. However, the effects are short-lived and mostly driven by individuals who miss prestigious ranks by a tiny margin. We identify media attention as the key channel for performance effects and provide empirical evidence for an increasing media bias in favor of top-ranked competitors in the last two decades. These findings highlight a serious drawback of rankings.

Keywords: Performance; Success; Rankings; Media Attention; Skiing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D03 L83 M50 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 52 pages
Date: 2013-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hrm
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:usg:econwp:2013:40

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