Tanking, Shirking, and Running Dead: The Role of Economics and Large Data Sets in Identifying Competition Corruption and its Causes

Citation

Vamplew W (2018) Tanking, Shirking, and Running Dead: The Role of Economics and Large Data Sets in Identifying Competition Corruption and its Causes. International Journal of the History of Sport, 35 (2-3), pp. 141-156. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523367.2018.1485652

Abstract
This paper will offer an economic history perspective on match-fixing based on economic models which explain corruption as a rational decision-making process in which a potentially corrupt athlete weighs up various probabilities. Examples will be taken from sport worldwide including American college sports, NBA basketball, British horseracing, Australian Rules football, and sumo wrestling in Japan where large databases of actual results over time have allowed possible patterns of match-fixing (as opposed to individual instances) to be identified by the use of probability theory.

Keywords
Match-fixing; databases; economics; integrity; corruption;

Journal
International Journal of the History of Sport: Volume 35, Issue 2-3

People

Professor Wray Vamplew

Emeritus Professor, Sport