Ross Booth

Comparing Competitive Balance in Australian Sports Leagues: Does a Salary Cap and Player Draft Measure Up?

In the period following the introduction by the Australian Football League (AFL) of the team salary cap in 1985 and the player draft at the end of 1986, within-season competitive balance (measured by the seasonal distribution of team win percentages) has increased. This paper continues the investigation into whether the improvement in competitive balance in the AFL can be attributed to these labour market changes by examining competitive balance outcomes and labour market changes in two other Australian sports leagues, the National Basketball League (NBL) and the National Rugby League (NRL). The measurement of competitive balance in this paper is extended to include a simple measure of between-season competitive balance, namely the distribution of championships/ premierships amongst teams/clubs. The evidence suggests that since 1985 within-season competitive balance, as measured by actual standard deviation/idealised standard deviation (ASD/ISD) ratios, has increased slightly in all three leagues. The NRL has been the most balanced and the NBL the least balanced, both pre- and post-1985. The distribution of championships/premierships is, in general, also more even in the post-1985 period in all three leagues. The most significant labour market change in both the NBL and the NRL post-1985 is their adoption of a team salary cap. Thus, the evidence on competitive balance is consistent with the view that the introduction of a team salary cap in all three leagues has improved competitive balance since 1985. However, since 1985 there has also been net expansion in the number of clubs/teams in all three leagues, and a considerable turnover in both the NBL and the NRL, but not the AFL. The expansion and contraction of the leagues is compared with changes in their competitive balance, leading to the conclusion that the number and, in particular, the location of teams/clubs also affects competitive balance.

Second place is first of the losers: an analysis of competitive balance in formula one.

This article analyses competitive balance in Formula 1 motor racing 1950-2010. It is shown that regulation change has had a significant positive impact on championship uncertainty but not on race uncertainty or long-term dominance. If television viewer suspense is positively related not only to championship uncertainty but also to absolute quality, then this suggests the purpose of such regulation change is to maximize television broadcasting revenues and gross sponsor exposure. A simple econometric model is employed to analyze competitive balance implications of the Resource Restriction Agreement, designed to restrict team expenditure following the global financial crisis.

Problem-Based Learning of Statistical Sampling Concepts Using Fantasy Sports Team Data

This paper explores a case of using data from a fantasy sports competition (the AFL Dream Team competition) to teach the core concepts in statistical sampling and the central limit theorem as they apply to problems of inference regarding the population mean.

Introduction to the Symposium on Sport Economics

The past two decades have witnessed an explosion of scholarly research in the field of the economics of sports, and an increasing acceptance from the mainstream of the economics discipline. Of course, common interest in athletics is nothing new. As noted by the first paper in this symposium, spectator sports date back to at least the early Greeks and Romans; and Adam Smith, no less, briefly explored the topic of the economics of recreation in his classic text, The Wealth of Nations.

Violence in the Australian Football League: Good or Bad?

In this chapter, the trend in violence in the Australian Football League (AFL) is examined for the period 2000–2009. We begin with a brief history of the league and the key features of the game. A distinction is made between controlled aggression and unsanctioned violence. The potential effects of both forms of violence on the future of the AFL are discussed along with the responses by the league in terms of programs to increase participation, changes to the laws of the game and their interpretation, and implementation of the tribunal system. Tribunal data for the period 2000–2009 is analyzed to see whether these changes have had any impact on both the level of violence and of attendance.

Generic Models of Sports Governance and Their Potential for Sustainability

This chapter discusses how generic governance models may influence sporting organisations in Australia to improve their prospects for utility and sustainability. It draws on a research study that focused on the sports of bowls, hockey and swimming which examined how governance, and management structures and practices affected a sport’s capacities in revenue generation and sustainability. (The Project Team comprised the authors and Dr. Robert Kidston (Senior Consultant, Governance and Management Improvement, Innovation and Best Practice Program, Australian Sports Commission), Mr. Rob Clement (General Manager, Innovation and Best Practice, Australian Sports Commission), Mr. Stephen Fox (Senior Consultant, Australian Sports Commission). The Project Team acknowledges with gratitude research assistance, literature review, interviews with participants and a report entitled, The Influence of Governance and Management on the Capacity for Revenue Raising by Sporting Organisations, Preliminary Report, unpublished (copy on file with authors), conducted and/or provided by Mr. J A (Jim) Ferguson (Consultant, former Executive Director of the Australian Sports Commission)). The results of the study are considered within the context of two broad questions on sport governance:

Participation in women’s sport in Australia

Women’s sports have received much less attention from economists than from other social scientists. This Handbook fills that gap with a comprehensive economic analysis of women’s sports. It also analyzes how the behavior and treatment of female athletes reflect broad economic forces.