We analyse how progressive taxation and education subsidies affect schooling decisions when the returns to education are stochastic. We use the theory of real options to solve the problem of education choice in a dynamic, life-cycle consistent, stochastic model. We show that education attainment...

We analyse how progressive taxation and education subsidies affect schooling decisions when the returns to education are stochastic. We use the theory of real options to solve the problem of education choice in a dynamic stochastic model. We show that education attainment will be an increasing...

We analyse winning strategies in the Australian Women's Big Bash Cricket League (WBBL). Our objective is two- fold. First such analysis has potential implications for fan interest, team selection and recruitment. While several studies have analysed winning strategies in men's cricket we are...

The design of sports leagues has significant financial implications for the organisers and member teams and for the relative success or failure of the individual clubs. Using the Pro 14 rugby league as an example we show how the structure of the league has influenced the success of the league...

Paris Saint-Germain, one of France's top soccer clubs, was bought by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) in 2011. Since then the club's expenditure has risen precipitously as have its victories. In this paper we ask whether this represents value for money. We find in fact, that the efficiency of PSG...

The paper presents results from two natural experiments on the impact of revenue sharing and salary caps on competitive balance in sports leagues arising from the introduction of professionalism in Rugby Union in 1995. The first involves the English Premiership, which traditionally applied a...

Using data from 1,226 matches played over 18 seasons, we analyse match attendances in the group stages of the European Rugby Cup (ERC). We find that short-run (match) uncertainty had little effect on attendances. This finding is significant as the ERC has been replaced by a new competition which...

The paper analyses teams' responses to rule changes designed to encourage more entertaining play in Rugby Union's Six Nations Championship. We use a data set of all scores in the competition since 1883 to analyse the impact of rule changes on teams' strategic decisions. We find that increasing...

The paper analyses the impact of the relatively belated move to professionalism in Rugby Union. We use data on match attendance for 3,667 fixtures in European club Rugby over 15 seasons to estimate the effect of competitive balance on attendance. We find that (short- and medium-term) competitive...

The economic literature on professional sports leagues suggests supporters' utility depends on uncertainty of outcome (competitive balance) and the quality of play. Unlike soccer, where the Champions League is dominated by teams from larger countries, our analysis indicates that the ERC exhibits...