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The relative age effect reversal among the National Hockey League elite

Author

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  • Luca Fumarco
  • Benjamin G Gibbs
  • Jonathan A Jarvis
  • Giambattista Rossi

Abstract

Like many sports in adolescence, junior hockey is organized by age groups. Typically, players born after December 31st are placed in the subsequent age cohort and as a result, will have an age advantage over those players born closer to the end of the year. While this relative age effect (RAE) has been well-established in junior hockey and other professional sports, the long-term impact of this phenomenon is not well understood. Using roster data on North American National Hockey League (NHL) players from the 2008–2009 season to the 2015–2016 season, we document a RAE reversal—players born in the last quarter of the year (October-December) score more and command higher salaries than those born in the first quarter of the year. This reversal is even more pronounced among the NHL “elite.” We find that among players in the 90th percentile of scoring, those born in the last quarter of the year score about 9 more points per season than those born in the first quarter. Likewise, elite players in the 90th percentile of salary who are born in the last quarter of the year earn 51% more pay than players born at the start of the year. Surprisingly, compared to players at the lower end of the performance distribution, the RAE reversal is about three to four times greater among elite players.

Suggested Citation

  • Luca Fumarco & Benjamin G Gibbs & Jonathan A Jarvis & Giambattista Rossi, 2017. "The relative age effect reversal among the National Hockey League elite," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(8), pages 1-16, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0182827
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182827
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    2. Christian Thue Bjørndal & Live S Luteberget & Kevin Till & Simen Holm, 2018. "The relative age effect in selection to international team matches in Norwegian handball," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(12), pages 1-12, December.
    3. Furmaco, L. & Longley, N. & Palermo, A. & Rossi, G., 2021. "Employees’ Performance Variation over Fixed-Term Contracts - Evidence from the National Hockey League," Working Papers 2107, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    4. John R Doyle & Paul A Bottomley, 2018. "Relative age effect in elite soccer: More early-born players, but no better valued, and no paragon clubs or countries," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(2), pages 1-13, February.
    5. Alfonso de la Rubia & Christian Thue Bjørndal & Joaquín Sánchez-Molina & José María Yagüe & Jorge Lorenzo Calvo & Sergio Maroto-Izquierdo, 2020. "The relationship between the relative age effect and performance among athletes in World Handball Championships," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(3), pages 1-21, March.
    6. Alfonso de la Rubia Riaza & Jorge Lorenzo Calvo & Daniel Mon-López & Alberto Lorenzo, 2020. "Impact of the Relative Age Effect on Competition Performance in Basketball: A Qualitative Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-31, November.

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