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Who made Who? An Empirical Analysis of Competitive Balance in European Soccer Leagues

Author

Listed:
  • Leif Brandes
  • Egon Franck

    (Institute for Strategy and Business Economics, University of Zurich
    Institute for Strategy and Business Economics, University of Zurich)

Abstract

There is an on-going debate about the optimal degree of team solidarity in professional European soccer leagues. Support for a high degree of team solidarity has been coming from the theory of competitive balance. Within this theory, attendance has always been referred to as the endogenous variable, stating that diminished uncertainty of outcome will result in a lack of attendance demand. This paper takes a new approach towards the relation between competitive balance and attendance demand. First, we show why this relationship might be reversed. Based on seasonal average match attendance and different measures of competitive balance for several soccer leagues in Europe, this paper then presents results using vector autoregressive models and Granger causality tests. Regarding the analyzed relationship, our results clearly show the existence of heterogeneity across different leagues and for tiers within a league.

Suggested Citation

  • Leif Brandes & Egon Franck, 2005. "Who made Who? An Empirical Analysis of Competitive Balance in European Soccer Leagues," Working Papers 0004, University of Zurich, Center for Research in Sports Administration (CRSA), revised 2006.
    • Handle: RePEc:rsd:wpaper:0004
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    Cited by:

    1. Antonio Avila-Cano & Amparo Ruiz-Sepulveda & Francisco Triguero-Ruiz, 2021. "Identifying the Maximum Concentration of Results in Bilateral Sports Competitions," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-19, June.
    2. Franck Egon & Theiler Philipp, 2012. "One for Sure or Maybe Three: Empirical Evidence for Overtime Play from a Comparison of Swiss Ice Hockey and the NHL," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 232(3), pages 210-223, June.
    3. András Gyimesi, 2020. "League Ranking Mobility Affects Attendance: Evidence From European Soccer Leagues," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 21(8), pages 808-828, December.
    4. Liam J.A. Lenten, 2011. "Long-run Trends and Factors in Attendance Patterns in Sport: Australian Football League, 1945–2009," Chapters, in: Samuel Cameron (ed.), Handbook on the Economics of Leisure, chapter 17, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Fatih Karanfil, 2017. "An empirical analysis of European football rivalries based on on-field performances," Sport Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(5), pages 468-482, December.
    6. 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.
    7. Guironnet, Jean-Pascal, 2023. "Competitive intensity and industry performance of professional sports," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    8. P. Dorian Owen, 2012. "Measuring Parity in Sports Leagues With Draws," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 13(1), pages 85-95, February.
    9. Jean-Pascal Guironnet, 2018. "Incertitude de classement final et affluence en Ligue 1 française de football : une nouvelle approche," Revue d'économie politique, Dalloz, vol. 128(4), pages 641-666.
    10. Owen Croft & J.D. Tena, 2023. "A game of two halves: Determinants of attendance in the FA WSL and male team spillover effects," Working Papers 202308, University of Liverpool, Department of Economics.
    11. Raul Caruso, 2008. "Il calcio tra mercato, relazioni e coercizione," Rivista di Diritto ed Economia dello Sport, Centro di diritto e business dello Sport, vol. 4(1), pages 71-88, Aprile.
    12. Vani K. Borooah & John Mangan, 2012. "Measuring competitive balance in sports using generalized entropy with an application to English premier league football," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(9), pages 1093-1102, March.
    13. Paolo Di Betta & Carlo Amenta, 2010. "A die-hard aristocracy: competitive balance in Italian soccer, 1929-2009," Rivista di Diritto ed Economia dello Sport, Centro di diritto e business dello Sport, vol. 6(2), pages 13-40, Settembre.
    14. P Dorian Owen, 2010. "Measuring Parity in Sports Leagues with Draws: Further Comments," NCER Working Paper Series 59, National Centre for Econometric Research.
    15. 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.
    16. Raul Caruso & Marco Di Domizio, 2012. "Domanda Di Calcio E Violenza Negli Stadi: Un’Analisi Panel Sulla Serie A," Rivista di Diritto ed Economia dello Sport, Centro di diritto e business dello Sport, vol. 8(2), pages 41-66, settembre.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • C13 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Estimation: General
    • C32 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes; State Space Models
    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism

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