Motivated by a central banker with a symmetric but non-quadratic loss function, we show in this note that the approximations of two plausible loss functions of this type will include a quartic term. For skewed distributions, we establish that such a loss function implies a systematic inflation...

Using fixed betting odds for football match outcomes this paper improves on previous versions of outcome uncertainty models of attendance demand by utilizing data on 'repeat' fixtures between two teams. This provides some control over the variation in match characteristics which influence...

Conditional on the Shin (Economic Journal, 103, 1993) model, the incidence of insider trading is estimated in two different British betting markets: those for horse-racing and the 1997 general election. Formal testing confirms that insider trading is significantly lower in handicap than...

Using data on 'spread' betting odds for rugby league football this study shows that handicap odds are unbiased and efficient predictors of match results and that, as a proxy for match uncertainty of outcomes, the handicap value is a significant determinant of attendance.