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A Fall Classic? Assessing the Economic Impact of the World Series

Author

Listed:
  • Victor Matheson

    (Department of Economics, College of the Holy Cross)

  • Robert Baade

    (Department of Economics and Business, Lake Forest College)

Abstract

An empirical analysis of the economic impact of the Major League Baseball’s postseason on host-city economies from 1972-2001 suggests that any economic benefits from the playoff are small or non-existent. An examination of 129 playoff series finds that any increase ineconomic growth as a result of the post-season is not statistically significantly different than zero and that a best guess of the economic impact is $6.8 million per home game. As a general method of economic development, public support of a baseball team’s attempt to reach the World Series should be seen as a gamble at best.

Suggested Citation

  • Victor Matheson & Robert Baade, 2005. "A Fall Classic? Assessing the Economic Impact of the World Series," Working Papers 0501, College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:hcx:wpaper:0501
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hcapps.holycross.edu/hcs/RePEc/hcx/HC0501-Matheson-Baade_WorldSeries.pdf
    File Function: Revised version, 2005
    Download Restriction: no
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John J. Siegfried & Andrew Zimbalist, 2000. "The Economics of Sports Facilities and Their Communities," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 14(3), pages 95-114, Summer.
    2. Dennis Coates & Brad R. Humphreys, 1999. "The growth effects of sport franchises, stadia, and arenas," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(4), pages 601-624.
    3. Robert Baade & Victor Matheson, 1999. "An assessment of the economic impact of the american football championship, the Superbowl, on host communities," IASE Conference Papers 9903, International Association of Sports Economists.
    4. Dennis Coates & Brad R. Humphreys, 2002. "The Economic Impact of Postseason Play in Professional Sports," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 3(3), pages 291-299, August.
    5. Robert A. Baade & Victor A. Matheson, 2001. "Home Run or Wild Pitch?," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 2(4), pages 307-327, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Dennis Coates & Craig A. Depken, II, 2008. "Do College Football Games Pay for Themselves? The Impact of College Football Games on Local Sales Tax Revenue," Working Papers 0802, International Association of Sports Economists;North American Association of Sports Economists.
    2. Dennis Coates & Craig A. Depken, II, 2006. "Mega-Events: Is the Texas-Baylor game to Waco what the Super Bowl is to Houston?," Working Papers 0606, International Association of Sports Economists;North American Association of Sports Economists.
    3. Dennis Coates & Craig A. Depken,, 2011. "Mega-Events: Is Baylor Football to Waco What the Super Bowl is to Houston?," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 12(6), pages 599-620, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    baseball; impact analysis; World Series; sports; mega-event;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism
    • R53 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Public Facility Location Analysis; Public Investment and Capital Stock

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