Articles in this issue:

• The Hot Hand vs. Cold Hand on the PGA Tour

  This paper examines tests for hot- and cold-hand effects in men’s professional golf, based on score relative to par over sets of 3, 6, 9, and 18 holes. Using controls for each player’s annual performance and the difficulty of a set of holes on a given day, I find no evidence for a hot-hand effect. In contrast, I find evidence supporting the existence of a cold-hand effect—that is, a poor performance on one set of holes leads to a worse performance on the next set of holes. Simulations demonstrate that the cold-hand effect is quite large.Read more

• The Impact of the NHL Lockout on County Employment

  John Jasina and Kurt Rotthoff

  The National Hockey League (NHL) had a lockout that lasted the entire 2004–2005 season. Because this lockout cancelled the season, it provides a unique opportunity to analyze the economic impact on county employment and payroll in the sectors relevant to the sporting world. We test 3- and 4-digit NAICS codes, including Accommodation, Drinking Places, Restaurants, and Spectator Sports. Using the impact found in a county with an NHL team, relative to trends in the surrounding counties, we find no general impact on employment, but we find a decrease in payroll in some sectors.Read more

• Who Attends Sporting Events? Evidence from Mexican Micro Data

  Antonio Friedman-Soza

  Jorge R. Friedman

  Domingo H. Pozo

  and Carlos F. Yevenes

  Applying probit in Mexican micro data we conclude that sporting event attendance is determined mostly by education, income, gender, employment, marital status, ethnic origin, urbanization, and age. Showing that education is so central in the decision to attend a sporting event in developing countries is perhaps the most distinctive feature of the study; highly educated people are seven times more likely to buy tickets to sporting events than those with little formal education. The data fit information criteria confirms the importance of education. These results reveal yet another mechanism...Read more

• Race and NFL Playing Time

  Quinn A. W. Keefer

  Using binary variable and decomposition techniques on two distinct datasets, we analyze the effect of race on playing time for linebackers in the National Football League (NFL). We examine both the number of games started in a season and the probability of starting each individual game within a season. The results show black linebackers start approximately one additional game, or 16% more games, in a season than non-black players. Also, the probability of starting a specific game is four to eight percentage points greater for black linebackers. Previous research suggests black linebackers...Read more

• Composition of Event Attendees: A Comparison of Three Small-Scale Sporting Events

  Grzegorz Kwiatkowski

  This study contributes to the literature on economic impact assessments of sporting events by categorizing attendees of small-scale sporting events based on their potential primary economic stimulus to the host region. Thereby, the research questions driving this study are as follows: (1) What is the composition of event attendees at small-scale sporting events according to their primary economic stimulus to the host region? and (2) How does the composition of event attendees vary between the three considered events? The study builds upon primary data (N = 2,006) gathered at three small-...Read more