Relative age effect on labor market outcomes for high skilled workers – evidence from soccer

In sport and education contexts, children are divided into age-groups which are arbitrary constructions based on the admission dates. This age-group system is thought to determine differences in maturity between pupils within the same group, that is, relative age (RA). In turn, these within-age-group maturity differences produce performance gaps, that is, relative age effects (RAE), which might persist and affect the labor market outcome. I analyze the RAE on labor market outcomes using a unique dataset providing information on a particular group of high skilled workers: soccer players in the Italian major soccer league. In line with previous studies, evidence on the existence of RAE in terms of representativeness is found, meaning that players born relatively early in the age-group are over-represented, while players born relatively late are under-represented, even accounting for specific population trends. Moreover, players born relatively late in the age-group receive lower gross wages than players born relatively early. This wage gap seems to increase with age and in the quantile of the wage distribution

The relative age effect on labour market outcomes – evidence from Italian football

Researchquestion:Thisstudyinvestigateswhethertherelativeage effect (RAE) persists in the long term and affects Italian-born footballers’ performance and wages. Research methods: A unique dataset on 1700 individual players’ remuneration and performance was collected and analysed through the chi-square goodness-of-fit, the Spearman’s rank correlation and an econometric model. Results and findings: This study contributes to the literature by providing clear results on long-term RAE. We find evidence of the RAE in terms of representativeness, which means that, in an age group, players born relatively early are overrepresented, while those born relatively late are underrepresented, even accounting for national birth trends. Moreover, although they perform similarly, the gross wages of players born relatively late are statistically significantly lower than those of players born relatively early. Implications: This situation needs to be considered by various football stakeholders and tackled accordingly to minimize the loss of potential youth football talent. Further research is needed to identify the determinants of RAE in the long ter

Younger and Dissatisfied? Relative Age and Life-satisfaction in Adolescence

This is the first study to investigate whether age gaps between classmates (that is, relative age) affect life-satisfaction gaps in adolescence. To this end, we analyse data from the multi-country Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) survey. We find evidence that relative age negatively impacts adolescents’ life-satisfaction. A twelve-month age gap decreases life-satisfaction, rated on a 0-10 scale, by 0.3 points. This negative effect is consistent across countries. Finally, this negative effect does not decrease with the increase in absolute age

The relative age effect reversal among the National Hockey League elite

Like many sports in adolescence, junior hockey is organized by age groups. Typically, players born after December 31st are placed in the subsequent age cohort and as a result, will have an age advantage over those players born closer to the end of the year. While this relative age effect (RAE) has been well-established in junior hockey and other professional sports, the long-term impact of this phenomenon is not well understood. Using roster data on North American National Hockey League (NHL) players from the 2008-2009 season to the 2015-2016 season, we document a RAE reversal—players born in the last quarter of the year (October-December) score more and command higher salaries than those born in the first quarter of the year. This reversal is even more pronounced among the NHL “elite.” We find that among players in the 90th percentile of scoring, those born in the last quarter of the year score about 9 more points per season than those born in the first quarter. Likewise, elite players in the 90th percentile of salary who are born in the last quarter of the year earn 51% more pay than players born at the start of the year. Surprisingly, compared to players at the lower end of the performance distribution, the RAE reversal is about three to four times greater among elite players

Younger and Dissatisfied? Relative Age and Life-satisfaction in Adolescence

This is the first study to investigate whether age gaps between classmates (that is, relative age) affect life-satisfaction gaps in adolescence. To this end, we analyse data from the multi-country Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) survey. We find evidence that relative age negatively impacts adolescents’ life-satisfaction. A twelve-month age gap decreases life-satisfaction, rated on a 0-10 scale, by 0.3 points. This negative effect is consistent across countries. Finally, this negative effect does not decrease with the increase in absolute age

Relative Age Effect on European Adolescents’ Social Network

We contribute to the literature on relative age effects on pupils’ (non-cognitive) skills formation by studying students’ social network. We investigate data on European adolescents from the Health Behaviour in School Aged Children survey and use an instrumental variables approach to account for endogeneity of relative age while controlling for confounders, namely absolute age, season-of-birth, and family socio-economic status. We find robust evidence that suggests the existence of a substitution effect: the youngest students within a class e-communicate more frequently than relatively older classmates but have fewer friends and meet with them less frequently

The Relative Age Effect Reversal among NHL Elite

December 31 the first quarter of the year, most likely because they are relatively bigger than their younger counterparts born later in the year. As this Relative Age Effect (RAE) has been well-established in junior hockey and across other professional sports, we argue that the long- term impact of this phenomenon is still poorly understood. Using roster data on North American NHL players from 2008 to 2015, we examine the RAE in terms of birth month distribution and the extent that RAE is associated with points (i.e. goals plus assists) and player salaries. We find evidence of an RAE reversal—that players born in the second half of the year (July-December) score more points per season (29-50% more points) and command higher salaries (30%-50% more salary). Among elite players—the highest scoring and highest paid athletes—the scoring gap ranges between 14% and 26% more points for players born in the second half of the year—whereas the salary gap ranges between 18% and 50% greater salary. We argue that results partly support an “underdog” effect in NHL that is greatest among elite players

Hacia la construcción de una escuela inclusiva: las voces de los profesionales de la educación especial

Ningun

The Relative Age Effect Reversal among NHL Elite

December 31 the first quarter of the year, most likely because they are relatively bigger than their younger counterparts born later in the year. As this Relative Age Effect (RAE) has been well-established in junior hockey and across other professional sports, we argue that the long- term impact of this phenomenon is still poorly understood. Using roster data on North American NHL players from 2008 to 2015, we examine the RAE in terms of birth month distribution and the extent that RAE is associated with points (i.e. goals plus assists) and player salaries. We find evidence of an RAE reversal—that players born in the second half of the year (July-December) score more points per season (29-50% more points) and command higher salaries (30%-50% more salary). Among elite players—the highest scoring and highest paid athletes—the scoring gap ranges between 14% and 26% more points for players born in the second half of the year—whereas the salary gap ranges between 18% and 50% greater salary. We argue that results partly support an “underdog” effect in NHL that is greatest among elite players

Strategic behaviours in a labour market with mobility-restricting contractual provisions: evidence from the National Hockey League

We follow workers' performance along an unbalanced panel dataset over multiple years and study how performance varies at the end of fixed-term contracts, in a labour market where some people face a mobility restricting clause (i.e., a noncompete clause). Focusing on the labour market of the National Hockey League, we analyse players' performance data and contracts with a fixed effect estimator to address empirical limitations in previous studies. We find that, on average, NHL players' performance does not vary. However, our estimations detect substantially heterogeneous behaviours, depending on tenure, perceived expected performance and mobility. Only younger players (i.e., restricted free-agents) with high expected mobility but low expected performance tend to behave strategically and perform better. Differently, older players (i.e., unrestricted free-agents) with high expected mobility tend to underperform, as the option of moving back to European tournaments is more appealing