Economics lessons from sports during the COVID-19 pandemic

Citation

Singleton C, Bryson A, Dolton P, Reade J & Schreyer D (2022) Economics lessons from sports during the COVID-19 pandemic. In: Pedersen P (ed.) Research Handbook on Sport and COVID-19. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 9-18. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802207576.00008

Abstract
Economists have used COVID-19 as an exogenous shock to improve understanding of sports markets and in doing so gain broader economic insights. These natural experiments have provided partial answers to: how airborne viruses may spread in crowds; how people respond to the risk and information about infection; how the absence of crowds reduces the social pressure that can affect arbitration decisions; and how quickly asset (betting) prices reflect new information. This chapter provides both a review of this evidence and a reflection on how (sports) economics research can continue to be most valuable to policymakers.

Keywords
Natural experiments; Prediction markets; Referee bias; Social pressure; Sports economics; Sport events; Airborne viruses

People

Dr Carl Singleton

Senior Lecturer in Economics, Economics