This paper identifies substantial flaws in how U.S. government agencies and courts assess the impact of proposed mergers by firms using broadband networks to reach consumers. Based on current market definitions, consumer impact assessments and economic doctrine, antitrust enforcement agencies...

No–poaching clauses (NPCs) have recently come under scrutiny due to their potentially anti–competitive impact on wages. However they can also enhance efficiency. We use data from the US chain restaurant industry to assess the effect of such clauses on wages and we find robust evidence of a...

The stochastic frontier production model methodology developed by Battese and Coelli (1992) and applied to American football by Hofler and Payne (1996) is applied to team pointscoring in the (Australasian) National Rugby League (NRL) competition, using performance-influencing and game-specific...

This paper re-examines the calculation of the relative standard deviation (RSD) measure of competitive balance in leagues in which draws are possible outcomes. Some key conclusions emerging from the exchange between Cain and Haddock (2006) and Fort (2007) are reversed. There is no difference,...

This paper analyzes issues associated with network effects and two-sidedness in the market for professional team sports. Teams in professional sports leagues have to compete both for players (inputs) and fans (consumers). In this setting, we construct a theoretical framework where fans are more...

Systems of transfer fees can be designed in different ways. Their effects have been analysed in detail, particularly in connection with the Bosman-ruling. However, the analyses were only conducted on a microeconomic level and therefore limited to one player and two clubs, one club taking the...

Sports leagues in different parts of the world are set up in different ways, some as open leagues and some as closed leagues. It has been shown that spending on players is higher in open leagues (Szymanski and Ross 2000 and Szymanski and Valletti 2005). This paper extends these studies, finding...

The theory of competitive balance represents one of the core concepts of sports economics. Based upon an international research project analyzing the perception of competitive balance by consumers (Pawlowski 2013a, 2013b; Pawlowski & Budzinski 2013, 2014), we argue in this paper that behavioural...

There are two major hypotheses regarding the talent distribution among the teams that would maximize the total revenues in a sports league; dominant teams versus parity. This paper examines the revenue structure of National Football League and proposes policy recommendations regarding talent...

The paper presents results from two natural experiments on the impact of revenue sharing and salary caps on competitive balance in sports leagues arising from the introduction of professionalism in Rugby Union in 1995. The first involves the English Premiership, which traditionally applied a...