We show that precocity, as measured by the age of entry into the elite-level professional basketball labor pool, often leads to better career outcomes. Our findings cast doubt on the on-court efficacy of the National Basketball Association's contentious age eligibility rule.

Age is often used in law and public policy as a low-cost proxy for competency, maturity, and ability. Age is also used in numerous sport (and non-sport) labor markets to determine workplace eligibility. We exploit the enactment of the women’s professional tennis minimum age rule (AR) in 1995...

The NBA’s age eligibility rule is controversial. To examine the on-court efficacy of the NBA’s age eligibility rule, we test the effect of age of entry on NBA career performance. Our data set comprises the 332 players selected in the first round of the NBA draft from 1989 to 2000. Using...

In 1992, Congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), a statute designed to prevent the further spread of state-sponsored sports-wagering. The statute’s language has the effect of granting a property right to sports leagues, implicating the Constitution’s...