This timely Modern Guide offers critical insights into developments in both professional and recreational sports through the lens of the economic forces that determine them. It explores the benefits of the relationship between sports and economics, highlighting ways that economic research can help to understand sports better and the ways that sport provides opportunities to test economic theories. With both theoretical and empirical chapters, the book looks at the development of European sports economics over the last 20 years, the relationship between competitive balance and attendance, and the potential economic impact of sports events. Chapters further examine specific issues in sports from an economic perspective, including labour market restrictions on professional leagues, refereeing, team dynamics, the importance of good players versus good results and the sports analytics revolution due to big data. The use of state-of-the-art empirical methods makes this Modern Guide a crucial read for economists and sports science researchers looking to better understand both the relationship between the two fields and their own area of research. Sports policy makers will also appreciate the in-depth discussion on a range of different recreational and professional sports.

The relationship between sport and the media raises numerous issues and problems. This book outlines the current major policy concerns relating to the commercialization of sports broadcasting rights. What is the impact of marketing arrangements between content owners and media companies - a combination of joint selling with exclusivity - on fans, big-city and small-city clubs, TV markets, and finally on consumer welfare? Do consumers in Europe and the USA receive good value for the fees they pay to broadcasters? And does the way programs are delivered to the viewers (free-to-air, pay-TV or pay-per-view) have a positive or negative influence on the deal consumers receive? These are some of the central issues discussed within this book by the international team of contributors. Providing a comprehensive view on the relations between the sports media rights market, the sports market and the different partakers in the process (club, leagues, events organisers, TV operators, intellectual property owners), this book will be of great interest to academics and sports economists alike. With its clear and simple presentation, The Economics of Sport and the Media will also be accessible to sport federations, leagues, clubs, and policy makers at governmental and non-governmental agencies.

Stefan Kesenne's work has added a new dimension to the literature by bringing a European perspective to the analysis of professional sports leagues. This text sets out his research programme in a clear and accessible manner. His work is profoundly influential in the sports literature and the lessons of this book need to be understood by all those interested in policies and practices of sports leagues.' - Stefan Szymanski, Cass Business School, UK'Stefan Kesenne is one of the most innovative, clear-headed sports economists writing today. With this book, he has provided a thoughtful, accessible exegesis of the extant literature on the economic theory of team sports leagues. There is no book like this currently available. It will serve as an excellent text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in sports economics. I heartily recommend it.' - Andrew Zimbalist, Smith College, US This revised and updated edition of a classic text offer the most comprehensive and rigorous analytical treatment of the theory of professional team sports presently available. It will be required reading for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in sports economics. Stefan Kesenne elucidates the subject in a clear and accessible manner, addressing many of the most pertinent issues including: - The peculiar economics of professional team sports - Sports product market - Player labor market - Product and labor market equilibrium - Restrictions on player mobility - Revenue sharing - Salary caps This second edition of The Economic Theory of Professional Team Sports also includes student exercises at the end of each chapter and a useful bibliography of further reading. Contents: Foreword 1. The Peculiar Economics of Professional Team Sports 2. Sports Product Market 3. Player Labour Market 4. Product and Labour Market 5. Restrictions on Player Mobility 6. Revenue Sharing 7. Salary Caps Answers to Exercises References and Selected Bibliography Index

Stefan Kesenne's work has added a new dimension to the literature by bringing a European perspective to the analysis of professional sports leagues. This text sets out his research programme in a clear and accessible manner. His work is profoundly influential in the sports literature and the lessons of this book need to be understood by all those interested in policies and practices of sports leagues.' - Stefan Szymanski, Cass Business School, UK'Stefan Kesenne is one of the most innovative, clear-headed sports economists writing today. With this book, he has provided a thoughtful, accessible exegesis of the extant literature on the economic theory of team sports leagues. There is no book like this currently available. It will serve as an excellent text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in sports economics. I heartily recommend it.' - Andrew Zimbalist, Smith College, US This revised and updated edition of a classic text offer the most comprehensive and rigorous analytical treatment of the theory of professional team sports presently available. It will be required reading for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in sports economics. Stefan Kesenne elucidates the subject in a clear and accessible manner, addressing many of the most pertinent issues including: - The peculiar economics of professional team sports - Sports product market - Player labor market - Product and labor market equilibrium - Restrictions on player mobility - Revenue sharing - Salary caps This second edition of The Economic Theory of Professional Team Sports also includes student exercises at the end of each chapter and a useful bibliography of further reading. Contents: Foreword 1. The Peculiar Economics of Professional Team Sports 2. Sports Product Market 3. Player Labour Market 4. Product and Labour Market 5. Restrictions on Player Mobility 6. Revenue Sharing 7. Salary Caps Answers to Exercises References and Selected Bibliography Index

True to their title, Rodriguez, Kesenne, and Koning assemble a top-notch cast to delve broadly and deeply into The Economics of Competitive Sports. There is something here for everybody, from the organization of competition (tournaments; federations; rival leagues), to its results (competitive balance; career durations; medals), to its challenges (club survival; fan misbehavior). Anyone interested in solid and insightful economic analysis of sports competition should have this one on their shelf.' - Rodney Fort, University of Michigan, US'This volume makes an important contribution to the growing academic literature on the economics of sports, focusing especially on the organization of sporting contests, and the interplay between incentives, efforts and rewards in sports competition. The book will be an essential resource for any academics, students, practitioners or policy makers who are engaged with the economic analysis of sport.' - John Goddard, Bangor University, UK Competition is the very essence of professional sports, yet how do we measure it? Has the level of competition changed over time? Can organizers influence the degree of competition, for example, by changing rewards? How does the audience appreciate competition? The Economics of Competitive Sports examines and addresses these questions. This volume presents a state-of-the-art overview of the economics of competitive sport with contributions from leading experts in the field. The initial chapters present a discussion of the organization of sports and competition, exploring how leagues form, operate and compete. The second part of the book deals with the competition, rewards and outcomes of actual organized leagues and contests. Competitive balance and responses to incentives are covered extensively. Academics, policymakers and students seeking an in-depth and practical understanding of the economics of competition in sport will find this volume indispensable. Contributors include: J. Achterhof, M. Andreff, W. Andreff, X.G. Che, J. del Corral, D. Forrest, B. Frick, P. Garcia-del-Barrio, C. Green, B.R. Humphreys, S. Kesenne, R. Koning, I.G. McHale, J. Prieto-Rodriguez, F. Pujol, P. Rodriguez, I. Sanz, F. Scheel, R. Simmons, S. Szymanski, J.D. Tena, F. Tenreiro, C. Varela-Quintana

Offering a cutting-edge analysis of competitive balance and outcome uncertainty, this book explores the topic from multiple perspectives. Chapters address competitive balance and outcome uncertainty in different sports in a range of countries to help understand its significance. Highlighting important new insights into previously unexplored dimensions, the book also provides a rich context for better understanding why fans, teams and leagues value competitive balance. It challenges readers to think about the topic in a broad and rigorous way, and in some cases to question widely held beliefs about how outcome uncertainty motivates competitive balance and how sports fans actually view competitive balance. Key case studies and the use of new data in the chapters makes this an interesting read for sports economics researchers and students looking for current analysis of the topic. Managers of sports organizations will also appreciate the insights that the book gives into what their customers value. Contributors include: A. Barajas, O. Budzinski, D. Coates, J. del Corral, A. Feddersen, B. Frick, T. Gasparetto, C. Gomez-Gonzalez, T.J. Gopane, B.R. Humphreys, S. Jenkins, S. Kesenne, M. Lowrance, J. Miller, K.T. Mokgatle, J. Price, J. Reade, P. Rodriguez, L.C. Sanchez, P. Sanchez-Fernandez, E.F. Stephenson, H. Winner

The study of sport in the economy presents a rich arena for the application of sharply focused microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics to both team and individual outcomes. This unique book offers a survey of recent research that follows the tradition of empirical and theoretical analysis of sport economics and econometrics. Including contributions by many of the leading experts in the field, the authors address four central branches, namely: competitive balance, labor relations, attendance and demand, and the economic impact of sport in communities. A wide range of topics is explored within these themes, including: the effect of uncertainty of outcome on attendance players' labor markets, wages and team performance variations in fan loyalty between teams and through time the determinants of soccer match attendance. Case studies of Major League Baseball, the National Football League (NFL) and college athletics in the US, the English Premier League, the Spanish football league and other (major and minor) European football leagues underpin the discussion. This important book will prove to be a fascinating and stimulating read for academics, researchers and students interested in the econometric analysis of sport. Contributors: G.M. Ahlfeldt, J. Banos, R. Baumann, D.J. Berri, R. Fort, B. Frick, J. Garcia, W. Greene, B.R. Humphreys, L. Kahane, G. Kavetsos, S. Kesenne, Y.H. Lee, N. Longley, V.A. Matheson, R.G. Noll, P. Rodriguez, R. Simmons, S. Szymanski, J. Vrooman

Including an array of distinguished contributors, this novel book fills a gap in the literature by addressing an important yet under researched issue in the field of sports economics. It places great emphasis on the notion that sport is a significant component for improving the happiness, health and well-being of citizens, communities and society as a whole. In so doing, it addresses whether, in an environment of increasing pressure on public spending, governments should continue to subsidise sporting activities at the expense of other public resources. Written in a clear and accessible style, this pioneering book explores a number of specific issues including: -the relationship between sport and happiness -the effect of sport on health, including the capacity of sport and exercise to reduce spending on medical expenses -the relationship between sport and productivity -whether sport as a leisure activity can improve quality of life. Innovative and original, this volume will strongly appeal to students and researchers of sport, health and welfare economics. Contributors include: C. Breuer, C. Cabane, M. Davis, P. Downward, C. End, D. Forrest, J. Garcia Villar, H. Huang, B. Humphreys, G. Kavetsos, M. Lechner, J. Leyva, I. McHale, S. Oreffice, T. Pawlowski, J. Price, C. Quintana-Domeque, S. Rasciute, J. Ruseski, N. Sari, D.H. Simon