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Limitations of the relative standard deviation of win percentages for measuring competitive balance in sports leagues

Author

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  • P. Dorian Owen

    (Department of Economics, University of Otago)

Abstract

The relative standard deviation of win percentages, the most widely used measure of within-season competitive balance, has an upper bound which is very sensitive to variation in the numbers of teams and games played. Taking into account this upper bound provides additional insight into comparisons of competitive balance across leagues or over time.

Suggested Citation

  • P. Dorian Owen, 2009. "Limitations of the relative standard deviation of win percentages for measuring competitive balance in sports leagues," Working Papers 0908, University of Otago, Department of Economics, revised Mar 2010.
    • Handle: RePEc:otg:wpaper:0908
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    File URL: http://www.otago.ac.nz/economics/research/otago077123.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rodney Fort & James Quirk, 1995. "Cross-subsidization, Incentives, and Outcomes in Professional Team Sports Leagues," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 33(3), pages 1265-1299, September.
    2. Oscar Bajo & Rafael Salas, 2002. "Inequality foundations of concentration measures: An application to the Hannah-Kay indices," Spanish Economic Review, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 4(4), pages 311-316.
    3. Joshua Utt & Rodney Fort, 2002. "Pitfalls to Measuring Competitive Balance With Gini Coefficients," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 3(4), pages 367-373, November.
    4. Kelly Goossens, 2006. "Competitive Balance in European Football - Comparison by Adapting Measures: National Measure of Seasonal Imbalance and Top 3," IASE Conference Papers 0620, International Association of Sports Economists.
    5. P. Owen & Michael Ryan & Clayton Weatherston, 2007. "Measuring Competitive Balance in Professional Team Sports Using the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 31(4), pages 289-302, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Doria Matthew & Nalebuff Barry, 2021. "Measuring competitive balance in sports," Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports, De Gruyter, vol. 17(1), pages 29-46, March.
    2. Young Hoon Lee & Rodney Fort, 2012. "Competitive Balance: Time Series Lessons from the E nglish P remier L eague," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 59(3), pages 266-282, July.
    3. Vincent Hogan & Patrick Massey & Shane Massey, 2013. "Competitive Balance and Match Attendance in European Rugby Union Leagues," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 44(4), pages 425-446.
    4. Richard Evans, 2014. "A review of measures of competitive balance in the ‘analysis of competitive balance’ literature," Birkbeck Sports Business Centre Working Papers 9, Birkbeck College, Department of Management.
    5. Lee Scyoc & M. Kevin McGee, 2016. "Testing for competitive balance," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 50(3), pages 1029-1043, May.
    6. Liam J. A. Lenten, 2017. "A Formal Test for Asymmetry in the Uncertainty of Outcome Hypothesis," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 18(3), pages 253-270, April.
    7. Avila-Cano, Antonio & Owen, P. Dorian & Triguero-Ruiz, Francisco, 2023. "Measuring competitive balance in sports leagues that award bonus points, with an application to rugby union," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 309(2), pages 939-952.
    8. Hayley Jang & Young Hoon Lee & Rodney Fort, 2019. "Winning In Professional Team Sports: Historical Moments," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 57(1), pages 103-120, January.
    9. Bulent Uyar & David Surdam, 2013. "Searching for On-Field Parity," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 14(5), pages 479-497, October.
    10. P. Dorian Owen, 2010. "Measuring Parity in Sports Leagues with Draws: Further Comments," Working Papers 1005, University of Otago, Department of Economics, revised Jul 2010.
    11. Javier Otamendi & Luis M. Doncel, 2014. "Medal Shares in Winter Olympic Games by Sport: Socioeconomic Analysis After Vancouver 2010," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 95(2), pages 598-614, June.
    12. Dorian Owen, 2014. "Measurement of competitive balance and uncertainty of outcome," Chapters, in: John Goddard & Peter Sloane (ed.), Handbook on the Economics of Professional Football, chapter 3, pages 41-59, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Gasparetto, Thadeu & Barajas, Angel, 2016. "Reanalisando a competitividade na indústria do futebol: diferença acumulada de pontos," RAE - Revista de Administração de Empresas, FGV-EAESP Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo (Brazil), vol. 56(3), May.
    14. P. Dorian Owen, 2012. "Measuring Parity in Sports Leagues With Draws," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 13(1), pages 85-95, February.
    15. Jean‐Pascal Gayant & Nicolas Le Pape, 2017. "Increasing Downside or Outer Risk? The Challenge of Measuring Competitive Imbalance in Closed and Open Leagues," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 83(3), pages 774-795, January.
    16. L'aszl'o Csat'o & D'ora Gr'eta Petr'oczy, 2020. "Bibliometric indices as a measure of performance and competitive balance in the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League," Papers 2005.13416, arXiv.org, revised Sep 2023.
    17. Brian Mills & Rodney Fort, 2014. "League-Level Attendance And Outcome Uncertainty In U.S. Pro Sports Leagues," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 52(1), pages 205-218, January.
    18. P. Dorian Owen & Nicholas King, 2015. "Competitive Balance Measures In Sports Leagues: The Effects Of Variation In Season Length," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 53(1), pages 731-744, January.
    19. repec:qut:auncer:2013_04 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Franziska Prockl & Dirk Semmelroth, 2018. "Perception Versus Reality - Competitive Balance In Major League Soccer From 1996 – 2016," Working Papers Dissertations 36, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.
    21. Gyimesi, András, 2021. "Hosszú távú versenyegyensúly egy csapatsportliga közgazdasági modelljében [Long-term competitive balance in an economic model of a team sports league]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(6), pages 585-616.
    22. Dorian Owen & Caitlin Owen, 2017. "Simulation Evidence on Herfindahl-Hirschman Indices as Measures of Competitive Balance," Working Papers 1715, University of Otago, Department of Economics, revised Dec 2017.
    23. Liam J. A. Lenten, 2015. "Measurement of Competitive Balance in Conference and Divisional Tournament Design," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 16(1), pages 3-25, January.
    24. Murat Çiftçi, 2015. "Regional Inequality of Sport Facilities in Turkey," Eurasian Academy Of Sciences Social Sciences Journal, Eurasian Academy Of Sciences, vol. 4(4), pages 49-66, July.
    25. Meletakos, Panagiotis & Chatzicharistos, Dimitrios & Apostolidis, Nikolaos & Manasis, Vasilios & Bayios, Ioannis, 2016. "Foreign players and competitive balance in Greek basketball and handball championships," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 391-401.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Competitive balance; Relative standard deviation; Idealized standard deviation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism

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