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Midweek Effect on Performance: Evidence from the German Soccer Bundesliga

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  • Krumer, Alex

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  • Lechner, Michael

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Abstract

The home advantage phenomenon is a well-established feature in sports competitions. In this paper, we examine data from 1,908 soccer matches played in the German Bundesliga during the seasons from 2007-08 to 2015-16. Using a very rich data set, our econometric analysis that is based on matching methods reveals that the usual home advantage disappears when the game is in the middle of the week instead of being on the weekend. Our results indicate that, since the midweek matches are unevenly allocated among teams, the actual schedules of the Bundesliga favour teams with fewer home games in midweek. The paper also shows that these soccer-specific findings have some implications for the design of contests in general.

Suggested Citation

  • Krumer, Alex & Lechner, Michael, 2016. "Midweek Effect on Performance: Evidence from the German Soccer Bundesliga," Economics Working Paper Series 1609, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:usg:econwp:2016:09
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    File URL: http://ux-tauri.unisg.ch/RePEc/usg/econwp/EWP-1609.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Jorge Tovar & Andrés Clavijo & Julián Cárdenas, 2017. "A strategy to predict association football players’ passing skills," DOCUMENTOS CEDE 015821, UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES-CEDE.
    2. Harb-Wu, Ken & Krumer, Alex, 2017. "Choking Under Pressure in Front of a Supportive Audience: Evidence from Professional Biathlon," Economics Working Paper Series 1717, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Performance; schedule effects; soccer;

    JEL classification:

    • D00 - Microeconomics - - General - - - General
    • L00 - Industrial Organization - - General - - - General
    • D20 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - General
    • Z20 - Other Special Topics - - Sports Economics - - - General

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