International Specialization of Major Trading Countries in Global Trade of Sports Goods

The analysis of international trade in sports goods is still in its infancy. Only four articles dealing with the topic have appeared in economic literature so far. In order to alleviate the sports economists ignorance about international specialisation in sports goods trade, we started to build up an entirely new dataset based on extracting data available in Comtrade (the UN word trade data basis) at the most disaggregated level (6 digits). After resolving a number of classification and statistical tricks, we have built up a country and sports goods dataset (41 countries, 36 goods), which gathers 94-96% of sports goods global trade every sampled year (1994, 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2004). Our country sample is divided into five regional areas of the world economy: NAFTA, EU + Switzerland, Eastern Europe, Asia, other emerging countries. As a first step, our dataset enables us to precisely describe the major flows of sports goods global trade. Major trading areas are Asia, Europe and NAFTA while major exporters are China, Hong Kong, the US and France, and major importers are the US, Japan, Germany, France, the UK and Italy. A major market share in sports goods global trade is for sportswear, anoraks, and gymnastic equipment. Asia, Eastern Europe and emerging countries have an excess balance in sports goods trade whereas NAFTA and Europe are in deficit. Different assessments, including one of revealed comparative advantages and disadvantages and a competitiveness index, depict the following international specialisation: NAFTA and Europe are specialised in ‘equipment intensive’ sports goods whereas Asia, Eastern Europe and emerging countries are specialised in ‘trite’ sports goods and some less equipment intensive sports goods. NAFTA is competitive in not any sport good, Europe is competitive in skis, emerging countries and Eastern Europe in sportswear and anoraks, and Asia in sportswear, anoraks, rackets, balls, skates, and gymnastic equipment. A principal component analysis often groups ‘trite’ sports goods together as opposed to intensive-equipment sports goods in global trade. A hierarchical ascendant classification methodology shows that China is a quite specific (dominant) trade partner in the global market for sports goods trade, Indonesia and Pakistan are platform for (Nike’s) outward-processing trade, international specialisation differentiates countries where sports goods production was relocated from trade partners with big domestic markets for sports goods. \sports economics, sports goods, international trade, international specialisation, globalisation, comparative advantage, competitiveness

Some comparative economics of the organization of sports: competition and regulation in north American vs. European professional team sports leagues

This article contends that a new research avenue is open to comparative economics which is the economic comparison between American (closed) and European (open) professional team sports leagues. It starts with sketching the major institutional differences between the two leagues systems. Then it surveys the American modelling of competitive balance in these sports leagues that objects pro-competitive balance regulation as being non Walrasian when (American) teams are profit maximising. A next step is to cover how the Walrasian model has been adapted to European open leagues and their regulation of win maximising clubs under a hard budget constraint. Such approach has recently been outdated by models where win maximising clubs operate with a flexible supply of talent in a non cooperative game, given the globalization of the labour market for sporting talent (namely after the Bosman case). Finally, the article ploughs into a new research path advocating for a disequilibrium model where clubs would have a "soft" budget constraint rooted in their weak governance, and empirically tests a vicious circle between TV rights revenues and wages in French football that may explain the aforementioned disequilibrium.sports economics, comparative economics, economic organisation, governance, sports leagues, Walrasian model, Nash equilibrium, competitive balance, regulation, soft budget constraint, TV rights, wages, profit maximising, win maximising

Would a Second Transition Stage Prolong the Initial Period of Post-socialist Economic Transformation into Market Capitalism?

The article attempts to define the relevant yardsticks that can be used to delineate the end of the transition process or, alternatively, a second stage in the post-socialist economic transformation into market capitalism. A first benchmark is EU accession, but it does not apply to non accession transitional economies. Moreover, a delay is going to appear between accession and the full benefit of common policies - a second transition period will open in May 2004. Convergence criteria are likely to postpone the end of transition for decades, if not for ever. Institution building varies significantly among transition countries, but the non accession countries are trapped for a long time in a no man's land between the former system and a market economy with its necessary institutions. Our privileged analysis is that transition ends when the economic phenomena that are specific to transition will vanish (and the associated concepts will disappear). These are assumed to be transformational recession, transitional unemployment, barterisation, the typical informal sector and managerial entrenchment. They are not going to fade away without a second stage of transitiontransition economies, EU enlargement, economic convergence, institution building, transitional specificities

New Perspectives in Sports Economics: The European View

sports economics

Economic Prediction of Sport Performances: From Beijing Olympics to 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa

This paper uses forecasting techniques to predict outcomes in the Beijing Olympics and 2010 World Cup using economic variables.sport, Olympics, World Cup

Globalization of the sports economy

Introduction – 1. Major features of a globalized sports economy – 2. International economic flows in a global sports economy – 3. Globalization as geographical spread of the sports economy – 4. Globalization of professional sports – Conclusion – References

Why Tax International Athlete Migration? The 'Coubertobin' Tax in a Context of Financial Crisis

The chapter describes international players (athletes) transfers with a focus on South to North flows. The issues generated by illegal teenage players transfers are tackled. A solution is suggested: to introduce a Coubertobin tax at an increasing rate for teenage players.player transfers; sports economics; international mobility; labour market; Tobin tax

Economic prediction of sport performances from the Beijing Olympics to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa: the notion of surprising sporting outcomes

International audienceAn econometric model with very significant explanatory variables of Olympic Games medal wins is emended in such a way as to explain the qualification of national football teams to the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup. It is shown that this model is not able to predict 100% of semi-finalists of the next Cup

La transition post-communiste comme origine de la crise actuelle du capitalisme mondial

Les dysfonctionnements qui ont marqué le processus de transition des pays communistes vers l'économie de marché se sont propagés, par l'ouverture et la concurrence internationale, à tous les pays de l'économie capitaliste mondiale