{"id":12744,"date":"2023-04-07T22:29:19","date_gmt":"2023-04-07T22:29:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/questions\/sports-economics-how-the-addition-of-a-sports-franchise-to-a-city-affects-the-economy-specifically-focusing-on-the-jobs-created\/"},"modified":"2023-04-07T22:29:19","modified_gmt":"2023-04-07T22:29:19","slug":"sports-economics-how-the-addition-of-a-sports-franchise-to-a-city-affects-the-economy-specifically-focusing-on-the-jobs-created","status":"publish","type":"questions","link":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/questions\/sports-economics-how-the-addition-of-a-sports-franchise-to-a-city-affects-the-economy-specifically-focusing-on-the-jobs-created\/","title":{"rendered":"Sports Economics: How the addition of a sports franchise to a city affects the economy, specifically focusing on the jobs created"},"content":{"rendered":"

Explore in depth a topic relevant to the course that interests you and write a formal research<\/p>\n

paper. Pose a question as a cause-effect hypothesis; do relevant secondary research on what<\/div>\n
scholars have written on related questions; use economic theory to analyze primary data or<\/div>\n
evidence to test your hypothesis; and write a coherent interpretive conclusion. Your paper must<\/div>\n
go beyond description into theory-based analysis to be regarded highly. I have in mind a<\/div>\n
paper of about 12 double-spaced pages (+\/-1) of text, but the density of material and thought that<\/div>\n
fits your approach affects my sense of whether you\u2019ve written \u201cenough.\u201d1<\/div>\n
This assignment is worth 21% of your course grade \u2013 210 points of 1000 total; each 42<\/div>\n
points (20% of 210) is a full letter paper grade. While you\u2019re graded mainly on your final<\/div>\n
version and I focus early on giving feedback rather than scores, the quality of your effort and<\/div>\n
thought in each intermediate step can raise or lower your score. If your major paper grade is<\/div>\n
better than either of the other 2 biggest parts of your grade (see syllabus), then it will get 5%<\/div>\n
additional weight in your course grade for a total weight of 26%<\/div>\n
A significant paper like this is best done with an early start and steady, frequent periods<\/div>\n
of effort over much of the semester. To encourage you to do so, to structure feedback at useful<\/div>\n
stages, and to reward those who do it well, I give you intermediate deadlines.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
You should write a coherent essay that: motivates a question relevant to the economics of<\/div>\n
sports in a broadly appealing way; states and rationalizes a narrower cause-effect<\/div>\n
hypothesis based on explicit theory; tests that hypothesis; interprets the results; and makes<\/div>\n
clear your intelligent doubts. You will develop a topic based on your interests, with my<\/div>\n
feedback and guidance. Your topic may be of current or historical interest, but you must analyze<\/div>\n
data \u2013 get beyond describing, and minimize predicting. If you\u2019re having difficulty with the idea<\/div>\n
1<\/div>\n
 Notes on paper length: 1) If you draw substantially from another assignment for this or<\/div>\n
another course, you should write more \u2013 how much depends on the overlap; talk with me early.<\/div>\n
For example, if the discussion you lead overlaps with your paper, aim for 15 pages +\/-. Talk<\/div>\n
with me early to avoid ethical questions later; if you say nothing and a question arises in my<\/div>\n
mind as I read your paper, I\u2019ll resolve the doubt against you.<\/div>\n
ECO 244 Economics of Sports Major Paper Assignment, Spring 2022-23, p. 2<\/div>\n
of a formal scholarly economics of sports paper, see mine and other assigned readings that do<\/div>\n
data analysis. Even if you focus on current affairs, show historical awareness: explain how<\/div>\n
things got to be how they are, and understand that they may change. Use one or more relevant<\/div>\n
economic models appropriate to your question \u2013 whether from the course, your own research, or<\/div>\n
your own original thinking. If there is relevant scholarly literature, summarize it and relate your<\/div>\n
ideas to it: how do you add to the knowledge of someone else who\u2019s read it?<\/div>\n
Thoughtful, rigorous original thinking and analysis are required and rewarded! Gather<\/div>\n
relevant data. Start your data analysis with basics \u2013 relevant means, time trends, percentages,<\/div>\n
correlations, etc. Then go deeper – thoughtful and careful regression analysis can help. Keep<\/div>\n
your main analysis focused. Depth usually beats superficiality.<\/div>\n
More on hypothesis testing: focus on a specific theoretical potential relationship of<\/div>\n
(change in X)=>(change in Y) [dX=>dY for short] on which you can find good data. If<\/div>\n
explaining dY, focus on one or two dXs, while keeping other important causal factors in mind. If<\/div>\n
evaluating dX\u2019s impact, focus on one potential dY. Your data should include both treatments<\/div>\n
that experienced your dX cause, and controls that didn\u2019t. For example, a test of the hypothesis<\/div>\n
\u201cteams with higher draft picks later win more often\u201d must include teams that have lower or no<\/div>\n
draft picks along with teams with high picks, and compare them systematically.<\/div>\n
Remember that you\u2019re writing a sports economics paper, not a business or journalistic<\/div>\n
report. Be alert to opportunities to use coherent economic analysis (more advanced, if relevant,<\/div>\n
is better) and show your mastery of it.<\/div>\n
III. Suggestions on the General Substantive Approach to Your Paper<\/div>\n
Developing a good topic and approach are big parts of writing a successful paper for this<\/div>\n
and many courses. Achieving those takes time, so start early. Develop a topic that interests<\/div>\n
you; it\u2019ll be easier and more enjoyable to put in the effort required for an excellent paper. There<\/div>\n
aren’t hard and fast lines between acceptable and unacceptable topics; what you propose in<\/div>\n
intellectual relevance, method, and quantity matters.<\/div>\n
If you don\u2019t have a firm idea of a paper topic, start investigating ideas by doing some or<\/div>\n
all of the following: * read the syllabus and intro paragraphs of course readings to survey course<\/div>\n
topics and ideas. In your paper, you\u2019ll need to go beyond what we do in class on a particular<\/div>\n
topic \u2013 digging deeper, or in a different direction, or both. * follow relevant citations of readings<\/div>\n
on topics that interest you; you can find more recent work with a database search in Google<\/div>\n
Scholar and the Library\u2019s resources, especially EconLit. *think about or theories in econ that can<\/div>\n
be applied to sports, or questions in sports, interest you and on which substantial quantitative<\/div>\n
data may be available. Might there be enough to develop into a paper? *look at old issues of the<\/div>\n
Journal of Sports Economics to see if an article idea interests you. You might write on a less<\/div>\n
technical, more recent, or other different version of a question asked there, analyze different data,<\/div>\n
or develop your own inspiration. *use articles\u2019 keywords as search terms in EconLit to find<\/div>\n
related publications; skim abstracts and introductions in search of ideas.<\/div>\n
Starting broadly in your topic search is good so you\u2019re open to productive approaches.<\/div>\n
Then narrow your focus to make your paper manageable. Many papers remain too superficial for<\/div>\n
lack of focus. For example, \u201cNBA draft picks\u201d is too broad for this assignment; a hypothesis that<\/div>\n
ECO 244 Economics of Sports Major Paper Assignment, Spring 2022-23, p. 3<\/div>\n
raises a specific possible cause-effect relation, and names variables with which you can test the<\/div>\n
relation, is more meaningful and offers a path to analytical depth.<\/div>\n
 Find out what scholars have written, if anything, related to your question. Don\u2019t reinvent<\/div>\n
the wheel; instead, learn from others, then add to your knowledge. Useful theories tested in other<\/div>\n
contexts, like other sports or nonsports markets, may apply to your question. Some articles are<\/div>\n
mathematically or statistically difficult, but the textbook and I may help you get the main ideas.<\/div>\n
Statistical analysis of appropriate numbers beats figures and anecdotes. Seek data that<\/div>\n
enable you to test your idea; see links on eLearn and try Google searches. There are much<\/div>\n
available data that are sports-related, or that can be applied to a sports economics hypothesis.<\/div>\n
Data that span many entities (like teams, schools, players, etc.) and periods (seasons?), also<\/div>\n
called panel data, often enable the richest hypothesis tests. You won\u2019t have time to do all<\/div>\n
possible tests of your question \u2013 doing one good one well is enough. Pick some good<\/div>\n
representative data (need not be perfect) and avoid cherry-picking, or at least discuss possible<\/div>\n
biases. A good subsample preserves intellectual validity and can keep the time input reasonable.<\/div>\n
Refine your hypothesis based on the secondary and primary sources you uncover.<\/div>\n
Note for those wanting to write about the future: Students often want to research a<\/div>\n
question motivated by future or current effects, but a paper focused on the future or a very new<\/div>\n
change won\u2019t work for this assignment. You won\u2019t have enough data to analyze, reducing you to<\/div>\n
untestable speculation and an incomplete paper; those ideas may work for journal essays. When<\/div>\n
experts forecast, they\u2019re only worth listening to if they\u2019ve studied past events and data enough to<\/div>\n
inform a model and gain an understanding of what\u2019s likely to matter. You may satisfy some of<\/div>\n
your curiosity and the assignment expectations by focusing your work on a healthy amount of<\/div>\n
past data and\/or earlier episode with some similarity. You can use your interest in the future to<\/div>\n
motivate your paper and discuss briefly similarities to or differences from your research analysis.<\/div>\n
Sources. Generally useful: 1) The two best scholarly field journals, available through the library<\/div>\n
network, are the Journal of Sports Economics (since 2000) and International Journal of Sport<\/div>\n
Finance (since 2009). 2) General economics and specialty field journals have some sportsrelated articles, so search EconLit for articles, and WorldCat for books. 3) links to some primary<\/div>\n
data on eLearn 4) Books on reserve at the Library that may spark ideas include: Quirk and Fort\u2019s<\/div>\n
Pay Dirt \u2013 pro sports theory and data up through 1991, more thorough and technical than Hard<\/div>\n
Ball; Handbook of Sports Economics Research – a collection of essays summarizing sports<\/div>\n
economics research as of early\/mid 2000s; and Playbooks and Checkbooks – elaborates on some<\/div>\n
theory in a less textbooky way.<\/div>\n
IV. More About the Final Product<\/div>\n
Your final version should be a coherent formal research paper with a well-stated question,<\/div>\n
hypothesis, thesis, discussion of related scholarly work, theoretical analysis or framework,<\/div>\n
analysis of data\/facts, reporting and discussion of results, and a conclusion in which you discuss<\/div>\n
doubts or lingering questions. That nearly always requires reorganizing your material and<\/div>\n
thoughts into a package in a different order from that in which they occurred to you. And, of<\/div>\n
course, it should be in flawless standard written English. Read, think hard, write, rethink,<\/div>\n
reorganize, and rewrite! <\/div>\n
ECO 244 Economics of Sports Major Paper Assignment, Spring 2022-23, p. 4<\/div>\n
Think of your audience as an intelligent reader who\u2019s NOT an expert in the economics of<\/div>\n
sports or a big fan of the sport on which you write, and who\u2019s a little rusty on economic theory.<\/div>\n
They\u2019re properly skeptical, so you need convince them with good reasoning, economic theory,<\/div>\n
data, and empirical analysis. So start your arguments concisely explaining key terms and giving<\/div>\n
necessary background, then develop those arguments to as deep and relevant a level as you can.<\/div>\n
That may include explaining the significance of on-field events and statistics relevant to your<\/div>\n
thesis, and certainly the impact of your analysis for your hypothesis test. Figures can illustrate a<\/div>\n
point, but do not substitute for actual numbers in analysis<\/div>\n
As with most good academic papers, in your final version make it as easy as possible for<\/div>\n
your reader to be convinced of your analysis, while displaying your intelligence and hard work,<\/div>\n
and being intellectually honest. Make clear when it\u2019s other authors talking and when it\u2019s you.<\/div>\n
Interpret tables (and figures) for the reader.<\/div>\n
You may reach a point where more data would be useful but is either inaccessible or<\/div>\n
impractical to obtain and analyze. You show your wisdom by discussing how such data would<\/div>\n
help to test your hypothesis further, and the implications of plausible results.<\/div>\n
I recommend you buy Deirdre McCloskey\u2019s Economical Writing, especially if you\u2019re an<\/div>\n
Economics major. It\u2019s full of good advice in short chapters. The \u201c\u2018A\u2019 Paper\u201d essay, available<\/div>\n
under \u201cAssignments\u201d on eLearn, is full of good advice for this and many other courses.<\/div>\n
V. Very general grading standards<\/div>\n
In grading your paper, I weigh the degree of well-posed difficulty, the intelligence with which<\/div>\n
you approach it, your apparent effort in executing the project, and the wisdom in your analysis.<\/div>\n
Stonehill students are very capable of thinking and working hard, and part of my job is to<\/div>\n
set standards to encourage that effort. To get a superior grade, you must show serious thought<\/div>\n
and effort in your paper that goes well beyond description or summary. The best papers on this<\/div>\n
assignment stay focused on a hypothesis whose testing poses a substantial intellectual challenge.<\/div>\n
They discuss relevant economic literature, and use theory and relevant data to test hypotheses in<\/div>\n
an appropriate way. They thoughtfully discuss the implications of the results while recognizing<\/div>\n
appropriate doubts. They discuss avenues for further research. Depth beats superficiality;<\/div>\n
narrow focus is needed to achieve depth<\/div>\n
Weaker papers often do some of the following: lack relevant economic theory with a<\/div>\n
testable hypothesis; don\u2019t test appropriate data; use inappropriate or insubstantial methods of<\/div>\n
analysis; and\/or fail to thoughtfully consider the results. Other frequent pitfalls I urge you to<\/div>\n
avoid: getting lost in historical narrative or background that doesn\u2019t illuminate a question and<\/div>\n
hypothesis; not considering critically relevant secondary and primary sources explicitly in the<\/div>\n
paper; using data that are unrepresentative or poorly related to the hypothesis; failing to advance<\/div>\n
beyond summary of facts and\/or others\u2019 writing; ignoring alternative interpretations of your data;<\/div>\n
lacking a thoughtful conclusion; ignoring possible points of agreement or disagreement with<\/div>\n
others\u2019 ideas, including relevant course ones, if any.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Explore in depth a topic relevant to the course that interests you and write a formal research paper. Pose a question as a cause-effect hypothesis; do relevant secondary research on what scholars have written on related questions; use economic theory to analyze primary data or evidence to test your hypothesis; and write a coherent interpretive […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"disciplines":[710],"paper_types":[],"tagged":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/questions\/12744"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/questions"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/questions"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/questions\/12744\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"disciplines","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disciplines?post=12744"},{"taxonomy":"paper_types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/paper_types?post=12744"},{"taxonomy":"tagged","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tagged?post=12744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}