What economic rules govern sports? How does the sports business differ
from other businesses? Playbooks and Checkbooks takes a fascinating
step-by-step look at the fundamental economic relationships shaping
modern sports. Focusing on the ways that the sports business does and
does not overlap with economics, the book uncovers the core paradox at
the heart of the sports industry. Unlike other businesses, the sports
industry would not survive if competitors obliterated each other to
extinction, financially or otherwise--without rivals there is nothing to
sell. Playbooks and Checkbooks examines how this unique economic truth
plays out in the sports world, both on and off the field.
Noted economist Stefan Szymanski explains how modern sporting contests
have evolved; how sports competitions are organized; and how economics
has guided antitrust, monopoly, and cartel issues in the sporting world.
Szymanski considers the motivation provided by prize money, uncovers
discrepancies in players' salaries, and shows why the incentive
structure for professional athletes encourages them to cheat through
performance-enhancing drugs and match fixing. He also explores how
changes in media broadcasting allow owners and athletes to play to a
global audience, and why governments continue to publicly fund sporting
events such as the Olympics, despite almost certain financial loss.
Using economic tools to reveal the complex arrangements of an industry,
Playbooks and Checkbooks illuminates the world of sports through
economics, and the world of economics through sports.
