Explore in depth a topic relevant to the course that interests you and write a formal research
paper. Pose a question as a cause-effect hypothesis; do relevant secondary research on what
scholars have written on related questions; use economic theory to analyze primary data or
evidence to test your hypothesis; and write a coherent interpretive conclusion. Your paper must
go beyond description into theory-based analysis to be regarded highly. I have in mind a
paper of about 12 double-spaced pages (+/-1) of text, but the density of material and thought that
fits your approach affects my sense of whether you’ve written “enough.”1
This assignment is worth 21% of your course grade – 210 points of 1000 total; each 42
points (20% of 210) is a full letter paper grade. While you’re graded mainly on your final
version and I focus early on giving feedback rather than scores, the quality of your effort and
thought in each intermediate step can raise or lower your score. If your major paper grade is
better than either of the other 2 biggest parts of your grade (see syllabus), then it will get 5%
additional weight in your course grade for a total weight of 26%
A significant paper like this is best done with an early start and steady, frequent periods
of effort over much of the semester. To encourage you to do so, to structure feedback at useful
stages, and to reward those who do it well, I give you intermediate deadlines.
You should write a coherent essay that: motivates a question relevant to the economics of
sports in a broadly appealing way; states and rationalizes a narrower cause-effect
hypothesis based on explicit theory; tests that hypothesis; interprets the results; and makes
clear your intelligent doubts. You will develop a topic based on your interests, with my
feedback and guidance. Your topic may be of current or historical interest, but you must analyze
data – get beyond describing, and minimize predicting. If you’re having difficulty with the idea
1
Notes on paper length: 1) If you draw substantially from another assignment for this or
another course, you should write more – how much depends on the overlap; talk with me early.
For example, if the discussion you lead overlaps with your paper, aim for 15 pages +/-. Talk
with me early to avoid ethical questions later; if you say nothing and a question arises in my
mind as I read your paper, I’ll resolve the doubt against you.
ECO 244 Economics of Sports Major Paper Assignment, Spring 2022-23, p. 2
of a formal scholarly economics of sports paper, see mine and other assigned readings that do
data analysis. Even if you focus on current affairs, show historical awareness: explain how
things got to be how they are, and understand that they may change. Use one or more relevant
economic models appropriate to your question – whether from the course, your own research, or
your own original thinking. If there is relevant scholarly literature, summarize it and relate your
ideas to it: how do you add to the knowledge of someone else who’s read it?
Thoughtful, rigorous original thinking and analysis are required and rewarded! Gather
relevant data. Start your data analysis with basics – relevant means, time trends, percentages,
correlations, etc. Then go deeper – thoughtful and careful regression analysis can help. Keep
your main analysis focused. Depth usually beats superficiality.
More on hypothesis testing: focus on a specific theoretical potential relationship of
(change in X)=>(change in Y) [dX=>dY for short] on which you can find good data. If
explaining dY, focus on one or two dXs, while keeping other important causal factors in mind. If
evaluating dX’s impact, focus on one potential dY. Your data should include both treatments
that experienced your dX cause, and controls that didn’t. For example, a test of the hypothesis
“teams with higher draft picks later win more often” must include teams that have lower or no
draft picks along with teams with high picks, and compare them systematically.
Remember that you’re writing a sports economics paper, not a business or journalistic
report. Be alert to opportunities to use coherent economic analysis (more advanced, if relevant,
is better) and show your mastery of it.
III. Suggestions on the General Substantive Approach to Your Paper
Developing a good topic and approach are big parts of writing a successful paper for this
and many courses. Achieving those takes time, so start early. Develop a topic that interests
you; it’ll be easier and more enjoyable to put in the effort required for an excellent paper. There
aren’t hard and fast lines between acceptable and unacceptable topics; what you propose in
intellectual relevance, method, and quantity matters.
If you don’t have a firm idea of a paper topic, start investigating ideas by doing some or
all of the following: * read the syllabus and intro paragraphs of course readings to survey course
topics and ideas. In your paper, you’ll need to go beyond what we do in class on a particular
topic – digging deeper, or in a different direction, or both. * follow relevant citations of readings
on topics that interest you; you can find more recent work with a database search in Google
Scholar and the Library’s resources, especially EconLit. *think about or theories in econ that can
be applied to sports, or questions in sports, interest you and on which substantial quantitative
data may be available. Might there be enough to develop into a paper? *look at old issues of the
Journal of Sports Economics to see if an article idea interests you. You might write on a less
technical, more recent, or other different version of a question asked there, analyze different data,
or develop your own inspiration. *use articles’ keywords as search terms in EconLit to find
related publications; skim abstracts and introductions in search of ideas.
Starting broadly in your topic search is good so you’re open to productive approaches.
Then narrow your focus to make your paper manageable. Many papers remain too superficial for
lack of focus. For example, “NBA draft picks” is too broad for this assignment; a hypothesis that
ECO 244 Economics of Sports Major Paper Assignment, Spring 2022-23, p. 3
raises a specific possible cause-effect relation, and names variables with which you can test the
relation, is more meaningful and offers a path to analytical depth.
Find out what scholars have written, if anything, related to your question. Don’t reinvent
the wheel; instead, learn from others, then add to your knowledge. Useful theories tested in other
contexts, like other sports or nonsports markets, may apply to your question. Some articles are
mathematically or statistically difficult, but the textbook and I may help you get the main ideas.
Statistical analysis of appropriate numbers beats figures and anecdotes. Seek data that
enable you to test your idea; see links on eLearn and try Google searches. There are much
available data that are sports-related, or that can be applied to a sports economics hypothesis.
Data that span many entities (like teams, schools, players, etc.) and periods (seasons?), also
called panel data, often enable the richest hypothesis tests. You won’t have time to do all
possible tests of your question – doing one good one well is enough. Pick some good
representative data (need not be perfect) and avoid cherry-picking, or at least discuss possible
biases. A good subsample preserves intellectual validity and can keep the time input reasonable.
Refine your hypothesis based on the secondary and primary sources you uncover.
Note for those wanting to write about the future: Students often want to research a
question motivated by future or current effects, but a paper focused on the future or a very new
change won’t work for this assignment. You won’t have enough data to analyze, reducing you to
untestable speculation and an incomplete paper; those ideas may work for journal essays. When
experts forecast, they’re only worth listening to if they’ve studied past events and data enough to
inform a model and gain an understanding of what’s likely to matter. You may satisfy some of
your curiosity and the assignment expectations by focusing your work on a healthy amount of
past data and/or earlier episode with some similarity. You can use your interest in the future to
motivate your paper and discuss briefly similarities to or differences from your research analysis.
Sources. Generally useful: 1) The two best scholarly field journals, available through the library
network, are the Journal of Sports Economics (since 2000) and International Journal of Sport
Finance (since 2009). 2) General economics and specialty field journals have some sportsrelated articles, so search EconLit for articles, and WorldCat for books. 3) links to some primary
data on eLearn 4) Books on reserve at the Library that may spark ideas include: Quirk and Fort’s
Pay Dirt – pro sports theory and data up through 1991, more thorough and technical than Hard
Ball; Handbook of Sports Economics Research – a collection of essays summarizing sports
economics research as of early/mid 2000s; and Playbooks and Checkbooks – elaborates on some
theory in a less textbooky way.
IV. More About the Final Product
Your final version should be a coherent formal research paper with a well-stated question,
hypothesis, thesis, discussion of related scholarly work, theoretical analysis or framework,
analysis of data/facts, reporting and discussion of results, and a conclusion in which you discuss
doubts or lingering questions. That nearly always requires reorganizing your material and
thoughts into a package in a different order from that in which they occurred to you. And, of
course, it should be in flawless standard written English. Read, think hard, write, rethink,
reorganize, and rewrite!
ECO 244 Economics of Sports Major Paper Assignment, Spring 2022-23, p. 4
Think of your audience as an intelligent reader who’s NOT an expert in the economics of
sports or a big fan of the sport on which you write, and who’s a little rusty on economic theory.
They’re properly skeptical, so you need convince them with good reasoning, economic theory,
data, and empirical analysis. So start your arguments concisely explaining key terms and giving
necessary background, then develop those arguments to as deep and relevant a level as you can.
That may include explaining the significance of on-field events and statistics relevant to your
thesis, and certainly the impact of your analysis for your hypothesis test. Figures can illustrate a
point, but do not substitute for actual numbers in analysis
As with most good academic papers, in your final version make it as easy as possible for
your reader to be convinced of your analysis, while displaying your intelligence and hard work,
and being intellectually honest. Make clear when it’s other authors talking and when it’s you.
Interpret tables (and figures) for the reader.
You may reach a point where more data would be useful but is either inaccessible or
impractical to obtain and analyze. You show your wisdom by discussing how such data would
help to test your hypothesis further, and the implications of plausible results.
I recommend you buy Deirdre McCloskey’s Economical Writing, especially if you’re an
Economics major. It’s full of good advice in short chapters. The “‘A’ Paper” essay, available
under “Assignments” on eLearn, is full of good advice for this and many other courses.
V. Very general grading standards
In grading your paper, I weigh the degree of well-posed difficulty, the intelligence with which
you approach it, your apparent effort in executing the project, and the wisdom in your analysis.
Stonehill students are very capable of thinking and working hard, and part of my job is to
set standards to encourage that effort. To get a superior grade, you must show serious thought
and effort in your paper that goes well beyond description or summary. The best papers on this
assignment stay focused on a hypothesis whose testing poses a substantial intellectual challenge.
They discuss relevant economic literature, and use theory and relevant data to test hypotheses in
an appropriate way. They thoughtfully discuss the implications of the results while recognizing
appropriate doubts. They discuss avenues for further research. Depth beats superficiality;
narrow focus is needed to achieve depth
Weaker papers often do some of the following: lack relevant economic theory with a
testable hypothesis; don’t test appropriate data; use inappropriate or insubstantial methods of
analysis; and/or fail to thoughtfully consider the results. Other frequent pitfalls I urge you to
avoid: getting lost in historical narrative or background that doesn’t illuminate a question and
hypothesis; not considering critically relevant secondary and primary sources explicitly in the
paper; using data that are unrepresentative or poorly related to the hypothesis; failing to advance
beyond summary of facts and/or others’ writing; ignoring alternative interpretations of your data;
lacking a thoughtful conclusion; ignoring possible points of agreement or disagreement with
others’ ideas, including relevant course ones, if any.