Standard economic indicators suggest that the United States experienced long-run economic growth throughout the nineteenth century. However, biological indicators, including human stature, offer a different picture, rising early in the century, falling (on average) mid-century, and rising again...

Celebrity media exposure is an increasingly strong source of actor popularity and is a viable star power variable that focuses on the impact of celebrity, not acting talent. Using <italic>People</italic> to calculate an actor's popularity, we analyse how the gender and age of a movie's lead actors affect box...

This paper examines whether an online social media presence affects box office revenues in both domestic and foreign markets using a star's Twitter account as a measure of star power. The results suggest that there is a negative social media effect on box office performance in foreign markets,...

This study examines how PGA Tour golfers' playing strategies offset a ban on technologically superior golf club grooves and how the strategy changes translated into performance changes. The ban, which was implemented at the beginning of the 2010 season, effectively decreased golfers' abilities...

The authors examine Wide Receivers drafted into the National Football League (NFL) to test competing superstar theories related to both talent and popularity. The authors use player performance variables and media exposure in the popular press prior to the draft to explore whether talent and...

We examine wide receivers drafted into the NFL to assess what attributes explain draft rank and correspond to high salaries and performance in their first year in the league. We find that tangible measures of player quality are valuable signals. Consistent with expectations, faster and more...

This article examines the relation between box-office performance and celebrity media exposure, as measured by appearances in the celebrity magazine, People. This study employs variables that capture different time periods to test whether People magazine appearances were merely part of a general...