Articles in this issue:

• The Impact of the Euro 2012 on Popularity and Market Value of Football Players

  Stephanie Kiefer

  High popularity and a high market value are important for a footballer’s regular wage as well as advertising and sponsor contracts. Yet how can a football player improve his popularity and market value? The aim of this study is to examine whether a good performance during the 2012 European Football Championship has an impact on the changes in online media popularity (Facebook, Google and uefa.com). Moreover, it will investigate whether good performance and non-performance-related popularity affect changes in market values. This study finds out that different Euro 2012 performance variables...Read more

• The Superstar Effect in 100-Meter Tournaments

  Brian C. Hill

  Rank-order tournaments with heterogeneous competitors work best when the competitors are relatively equal in abilities. Using data from 2007-2012 on major track and field events, this paper examines whether the presence of a superstar, Usain Bolt, has an effect on competitors. Results indicate a positive superstar effect. For average runners, the presence of Bolt is associated with running faster times and a higher likelihood of setting a personal record, but these results vary across runner abilities and stage of tournament. In general, the positive superstar effect is smaller for...Read more

• Is the Sports Media Color-Blind?

  David J. Berri

  Jennifer Van Gilder

  Aju J. Fenn

  Examinations of racial discrimination hinge upon the ability of the researcher to accurately measure worker productivity. To overcome this difficulty, researchers have utilized data from professional sports. Unlike many industries, professional sports provide an abundance of performance measures for the individual worker. Unfortunately, the abundance itself may pose a problem, as researchers face a number of plausible measurements of worker performance. As we show, the choice of measurements does impact the results. Additionally, we show that race can also be measured in a variety of ways...Read more

• Regional Differences in Sports Participation: The Case of Local Authorities in England

  Themis Kokolakakis

  Fernando Lera-López

  Pablo Castellanos

  This paper investigates the determinants of sports participation at regional level in England by applying beta models to Sport England’s Active People Survey. We analyze the differences in the regional characteristics among 325 English Local Authorities (LAs). The results show the importance of some socio-demographic variables such as educational level, ethnicity, and size of population; economic variables (income levels and occupations); sport volunteering; and weather conditions. Neither medium term sports funding nor sports infrastructure are significant factors in explaining...Read more

• The Causal Effect of Professional Sports on Amateur Sport Participation: An Instrumental Variable Approach

  Felix Mutter

  Tim Pawlowski

  Previous research has revealed a motivational effect of professional sports on amateur sport participation. However, research that attempted to analyze whether this motivational effect indeed transfers into observable behavior is scarce and inconsistent. Therefore, this paper intends to analyze whether the individually perceived relevance of professional sports causally increases the frequency of amateur sport participation. To test this hypothesis, an instrumental variable approach is employed using primary data of N=863 German amateur triathletes. The estimated models provide evidence...Read more