Midweek Effect on Performance: Evidence from the German Soccer Bundesliga
(Alex Krumer, SEW-HSG and Michael Lechner, SEW-HSG)
The home advantage phenomenon is a well-established feature in sports competitions. In this paper, we examine data from 1,908 soccer matches played in the German Bundesliga during the seasons from 2007-08 to 2015-16. Using a very rich data set, our econometric analysis that is based on matching methods reveals that the usual home advantage disappears when the game is in the middle of the week instead of being on the weekend. Our results indicate that, since the midweek matches are unevenly allocated among teams, the actual schedules of the Bundesliga favour teams with fewer home games in midweek. The paper also shows that these soccer-specific findings have some implica¬tions for the design of contests in general.
First In First Win: Evidence on Unfairness of Round-Robin Tournaments in Mega-Events
(Alex Krumer, SEW-HSG and Michael Lechner, SEW-HSG)
The order of actions in contests may have a significant effect on performance. In this study we examine the role of schedule in round-robin tournaments with sequential games between three and four contestants. Our propensity-score matching estimation, based on soccer FIFA World Cups, UEFA European Championships and Olympic wrestling events, reveals that there is a substantial advantage to the contestant who competes in the first and third matches, which is in line with game-theoretical predictions. Our finding implies that the round-robin structure with sequential games is endogenously unfair, since it systematically favours one of the contestants.
Sports and Human Capital Development: Causal Mechanisms for Children and Adolescents
(Christina Felfe, SEW-HSG, Michael Lechner, SEW-HSG, Andreas Steinmayr SEW-HSG in cooperation with the Sports Science Institute at the University of Constance)
The project investigates the channels through which sports might affect educational success and human capital development of children.
Unlike the existing literature we treat sports not as a homogenous treatment but as a multidimensional activity. Taking into account the heterogeneity of different types of sports along several dimensions (individual- vs. team sports, participation in competitions, different degrees of physical effort, etc.) allows us to isolate different causal mechanisms. For example, comparing the effects of individual- vs. team sports allows us to isolate the channel “team player”. Comparing the effects of sports with and without participation in competition allows us to isolate the effect of “competitive behavior”.
The analysis builds on a dataset that combines the KiGGS and MOMO data with data on the individual distance to different types of sports facilities. For identification of causal effects we use the distance to different types of facilities as an instrument for participation in different types of sports.
Music or Sports? An empirical analysis of their differential effects on child development
(Charlotte Cabane, SEW-HSG, Adrian Hille, DIW-Berlin, Michael Lechner, SEW-HSG)
This project compares the impact of two different leisure activities: sport and music on child development.
Extra-curricular activities are assumed to foster the creation of cognitive and non-cognitive skills during childhood. Therefore, focus our analysis on the evaluation of the impact of these activities on schooling, wellbeing and labour-market outcomes of young adults.
Recent studies have demonstrated that sporting activities positively and significantly impact these outcomes by increasing the human capital endowment in terms of health, cognitive and non-cognitive skills. And, experimental studies have shown that learning a musical instrument positively affects cognitive skills. But, our study is the first to compare the effects of two different activities: sports and music. We use the German Socio-Economic Panel, which provides a substantial amount of information on sports and musical past and present activities of adolescents at age 17 among other information.
Heterogeneous sports participation and labour market outcomes in England
(Paul Downward, Loughborough University and Michael Lechner, SEW-HSG)
This project is based on a unique composite dataset measuring heterogeneous sports participation, labour market outcomes and local facilities provision.
For the first time the association between different types of sports participation on employment and earnings in England is analyzed and clear associations between labour market outcomes and sports participation are established through matching estimation whilst controlling for some important confounding factors. The results suggest a link between different types of sports participation to initial access to employment and then higher income opportunities with ageing. However, these vary between the genders and across sports. Specifically, the results suggest that team sports contribute most to employability, but that this varies by age across genders and that outdoor activities contribute most towards higher incomes.
Labour market effects of individual sport activities: Evidence from the Canadian health panel
(Michael Lechner, SEW-HSG and Nazmi Sari, University of Saskatoon)
The Canadian health panel is one of the internationally most informative data set with respect to leisure time phyiscal activities and sports that allows a convincing empirical analysis of the long term consequences of sports participation and health and labour market outcomes.