A popular soccer myth states that teams affected by a sending-off perform better than they would have performed without the penalty. Based on economic theory, we analyze the course of soccer matches using data from the German Bundesliga from 1999 to 2009. The results show that sending-offs...

Key date assessments are common in the contexts of firms’ hiring decisions, the educational system, and professional sports. In talent selection, it is very likely that there is a difference between current and potential performance levels. This paper analyses the Relative Age Effect (RAE) in...

It is widely acknowledged that derbies between two teams from the same city or region catch more public attention than "normal" soccer matches. Terms such as "Old Firm" (Rangers vs. Celtic), "Merseyside" (Liverpool FC vs. Everton FC), "Supercla' sico" (Boca Juniors vs. River Plate), and...

This paper analyses the Relative Age Effect (RAE) in German elite youth soccer academies. We examine the efficiency of talent selection and the returns to training. Our results indicate a strong effect of players' birth dates on their probability of getting selected - and, thus, a waste of...

Derbies between two teams from the same city or region catch more public attention than "normal'' soccer matches. Terms such as "Old Firm" (Rangers vs. Celtic), "Merseyside" (Liverpool FC vs. Everton FC), "Superclásico'' (Boca Juniors vs. River Plate), and "Revierderby" (Dortmund vs. Schalke)...