Efficient Networks in Models of Player and Partner Heterogeneity

This paper contributes to the literature on centrality measures in economics by defining a team game and identifying the key players in the game. As an illustration of the theory we create a unique data set from the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament. To capture the interaction between players we create the passing network of each team. This all allows us to identify the key player and key groups of players for both teams in each game. We then use our measure to explain player ratings by experts and their market values. Our measure is significant in explaining expert ratings. We also find that players having higher intercentrality measures, regardless of their field position have significantly higher market values.

Key Players and Key Groups in Teams

This paper contributes to the literature on centrality measures in economics by defining a team game and identifying the key players in the game. As an illustration of the theory we create a unique data set from the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament. To capture the interaction between players we create the passing network of each team. This all allows us to identify the key player and key groups of players for both teams in each game. We then use our measure to explain player ratings by experts and their market values. Our measure is significant in explaining expert ratings. We also find that players having higher intercentrality measures, regardless of their field position have significantly higher market values.

Key Players and Key Groups in Teams: A Network Approach Using Soccer Data

This paper provides a way of evaluating a player's contribution to her team and relates her effort to her salaries. We collect data from UEFA Euro 2008 Tournament and construct the passing network of each team. Then we determine the key player in the game while ranking all the other players too. Next, we identify key groups of players to determine which combination of players played more important role in the match. Using 2010 market values and observable characteristics of the players, we show that players having higher intercentrality measures regardless of their field position have significantly higher market values.Social networks, team game, centrality measures

Essays on social networks

The first chapter provides a way of evaluating a player\u27s contribution to their team and relates their effort to their market values. We extend the work of Ballester et al. (2006) by incorporating a network outcome component in the players\u27 payoff functions. As an illustration of the theory, we create a unique data set from the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament. To capture the interaction between players, we create the passing network of each team. This all allows us to identify the key player and key groups of players for both teams in each game. We then use our measure to explain player ratings by experts and their market values. Our measure is significant in explaining expert ratings. We also find that players having higher intercentrality measures, regardless of their field position have significantly higher market values. The second chapter characterizes efficient networks in player and partner heterogeneity models for both the one-way flow and the two-way flow models. Player (partner) dependent network formation allows benefits and costs to be player (partner) heterogeneous which is an important extension for modeling social networks in the real world. Employing widely used assumptions, I show that efficient networks in the two-way flow model are minimally connected and have star or derivative of star type architectures, whereas efficient networks in the one way flow model have wheel architectures. The third chapter considers a non-cooperative network formation game where identity is introduced as a single dimension to capture the player characteristics. Each player is allowed to choose their commitment level to their identities. The cost of link formation decreases as the players forming the link share the same identity and higher commitment levels. We then introduce link and node imperfections to the model. Each existing link in the network successfully transmits information with a probability. We consider two cases for reliability probability of existing links: a homogenous probability, p and heterogeneous probability. We characterize the Nash networks and we find that the set of Nash networks are either singletons with no links formed or separated blocks or components with mixed blocks or connected

Dividend Policy, Creditor Rights, and the Agency Costs of Debt

We show that country-level creditor rights influence dividend policies around the world by establishing the balance of power between debt and equity claimants. Creditors demand and managers consent to a more restrictive payout policy as a substitute for weak creditor rights in an effort to minimize the firm’s agency costs of debt. Using a sample of 120,507 firm-years from 52 countries, we find that both the probability and amount of dividend payouts are significantly lower in countries with poor creditor rights. A reduction in the creditor rights index from its highest value to its lowest value implies a 41% reduction in the probability of paying a dividend, and a 60% reduction in dividend payout ratios. These results are robust to numerous control variables, sample variations, model specifications, and alternative hypotheses. We also show that the agency costs of debt play a more decisive role in determining dividend policies than the previously documented agency costs of equity. Overall, our findings contribute to the growing literature arguing that creditors exert significant influence over corporate decision-making outside of bankruptcy

Does classification of green aid flows matter for environmental quality?

Climate change imposes an existential threat on the globe and has already had sizeable economic costs to countries. Environmental aid flows aim to alleviate the rising concerns of climate change in the developing world. Even though the existing literature has examined the effectiveness of green aid flows for reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the recipient countries, no existing study has examined the effectiveness of different classifications of green aid. Examining the green aid flows to 97 developing countries between 2002 and 2018, we find that all types of green aid significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions; however, the aid flows targeting the environmental objectives are more effective in reducing carbon dioxide emissions compared to the aid flows that do not target environmental objectives or are not screened. The findings highlight that more aid should be screened and targeted for environmental objectives to increase the effectiveness of green aid flows in developing countries