Scott Tainsky published in sports economics journal

Mike Ilitch School of Business Associate Professor of Management and Director of Sport and Entertainment Management Scott Tainsky had a recent article published in the Journal of Sports Economics (JSE).

JSE publishes scholarly research in the field of sports economics. The aim of JSE is to further research in the area of sports economics by bringing together theoretical and empirical research in a single intellectual venue. 

The article, titled “Employer-Assigned Workload and Human Capital Deterioration: Evidence from the National Football League,” discusses the research of how humans gain deleterious physical effects from increased workloads while also implying that hiring decisions are partially based on status or exposure effects.

Co-authors for this publication include Brian Mills (University of Texas) and Steven Salaga (University of Georgia). 

Abstract:

We test whether human capital deterioration is a function of employer decision-making with respect to workload allocation. We examine this question in the context of National Football League running backs, where the structure of non-guaranteed employment contracts can create divergent incentives for franchises and players. We empirically test how employer-assigned workloads impact changes in player productivity and career length. We find that larger employer-assigned workloads result in larger decreases in future productivity. However, players assigned larger workloads tend to have longer careers. These results suggest deleterious physical effects from increased workloads while also implying hiring decisions are partially based on status or exposure effects.

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