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What makes you ‘super-rich’? New evidence from an analysis of football players’ wages

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  • Vincenzo Carrieri
  • Francesco Principe
  • Michele Raitano

Abstract

This article investigates the influence of performance, popularity, and bargaining power on ‘super-earnings’ using a unique panel dataset of Italian football players built on various sources of data. Using OLS, Panel, and Unconditional Quantile regression techniques, we find that detailed measures of these factors are all significantly associated with higher wages. Popularity dominates all the other factors at the right tail of earnings distribution, and the agent’s power contributes mostly to allocate players in richer teams. These new findings challenge the interpretations of super-earnings based only on very talented workers who ‘win and take all’.

Suggested Citation

  • Vincenzo Carrieri & Francesco Principe & Michele Raitano, 2018. "What makes you ‘super-rich’? New evidence from an analysis of football players’ wages," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 70(4), pages 950-973.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:oxecpp:v:70:y:2018:i:4:p:950-973.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Rachel Scarfe & Carl Singleton & Paul Telemo, 2021. "Extreme Wages, Performance, and Superstars in a Market for Footballers," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 84-118, January.
    3. Rachel Scarfe & Carl Singleton & Adesola Sunmoni & Paul Telemo, 2024. "The age‐wage‐productivity puzzle: Evidence from the careers of top earners," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 62(2), pages 584-606, April.
    4. Karol Kempa, 2022. "Task-specific human capital and returns to specialization: evidence from association football [All about balance? A test of the jack-of-all-trades theory using military enlistment data]," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 74(1), pages 136-154.
    5. Anil Özdemir & Helmut Dietl & Giambattista Rossi & Robert Simmons, 2020. "Are Workers Rewarded for Inconsistent Performance?," Working Papers 386, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW).
    6. Fabienne Jedelhauser & Raphael Flepp & Egon Franck, 2023. "Overshadowed by Popularity: The Value of Second-Tier Stars in European Football," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 24(8), pages 1026-1054, December.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism

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