EC310F - Sports Economics - Winter 2020 - Ken Jackson
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Winter 2020 EC310F – Sports Economics Draft Course Outline
EC310F – Sports Economics – Winter 2020
Course Description
The sports industry offers significant scope for the application of economic analysis. We will
discuss a wide variety of economic concepts in the context of sports, including game theory,
pricing strategies, labour market outcomes and public finance. The first half of the course is
focused on problem solving – applying specific economic models to specific decisions in sports.
The second half of the course focuses on critical thinking and written argumentation. Students
will be asked to pull together a variety of information to develop and defend their arguments.
This is the first time that this course has been offered at Laurier. As such, there may be some
modification to the course design as we go through the term. If you have questions or
concerns, please let me know – the intent of any modifications will be to improve the learning
environment without negatively affecting any students in the course.
A) Week 1 - Introduction – January 6th
B) Weeks 2-5 – Games/Teams/Leagues/Players – January 13th to February 3rd
C) Week 6 – In-Class Midterm 1 – February 10th
D) Weeks 7-9 – lab/lecture on February 24th to March 23rd
E) Week 10 – Take-Home Midterm 2 – due March 16th
F) Weeks 11-12 – March 23rd/30th
Course Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) Develop and solve simple models of decision-making in the sports industry.
2) Explain the results of economic models in non-technical language.
3) Write comfortably in a variety of formats, and for a variety of potential audiences.
4) Evaluate and provide effective feedback to peers on their written work.
Economics Program Learning Outcomes
The Laurier Economics department has defined Program Level Learning Outcomes for the
Economics program. This course is consciously linked to three of them:
1) Using and applying theoretical microeconomic models.
2) Write effectively in a range of different formats.
3) Independently manage a research project applying economic analysis to a policy issue.
1Winter 2020 EC310F – Sports Economics Draft Course Outline
Course and Instructor Information
Instructor: Dr. Ken Jackson
Office: LH3008 – Office hours will be posted on MyLearningSpace
Phone: 519-884-0710 x.2316 (definitely not your best option)
E-mail: kjackson@wlu.ca (a much better option)
Course Website
• Announcements, lecture slides, and grading will all be posted to My Learning Space,
http://mylearningspace.wlu.ca. You are expected to regularly log-in to My Learning
Space to access course material, complete quizzes, and check for announcements.
• If you need assistance with My Learning Space, please send an e-mail to myls@wlu.ca.
• As noted below, a number of required items of assessment are offered through the
textbook publisher’s online system (LaunchPad).
Course Textbook and Assessment
The textbooks for the course are Economics of Sports, by David Berri and Microeconomics by
Goolsbee, Levitt and Syverson. You can buy an access card for both through the WLU bookstore
bundled with access to the McMillan LaunchPad system. This will allow you to complete the
required LaunchPad homework assignments.
Assessment Schedule (tentative) Grading
Online Quizzes and
1 or 2 pts each
Assignments
Total points out of 40, 20%
In-Class Activities 1-4 pts each lecture
Kritik Participation On Kritik 20%
Monday, February 10th
Midterm Test 1 20%
(in-class)
Monday, March 16th
Midterm Test 2 20%
(take-home midterm)
Video Presentation 5pm, Monday, March 23rd 5%
Paper 5pm, Friday, April 3rd 15%
2Winter 2020 EC310F – Sports Economics Draft Course Outline
Minor Assessment Items
Sports Economics is designed as a hybrid course, with both a significant amount of online
content and an expectation that students attend and contribute in class. Using economics to
analyze sports starts from understanding a few basic economic models, and then we apply
those to situations that arise in professional sports.
Students are largely expected to work through the underlying economic models from the
textbooks on their own, and complete the online assessments through MyLearningSpace
and/or Launchpad. We will then incorporate those models into the analysis of sports in the
class sessions. As part of the class, students will be expected to complete and submit work
during each of the 10 lectures not used for tests.
Collectively, this part of the courses is worth 20% of your course grade. There will be at least 48
points available (1, 2 or 3 points for each item), but it is graded out of 40 to account for
inevitable missed assessments. Minor assessments will not be accepted late, for any reason.
Writing and Critical Thinking
A core concept in this course is that students need practice identifying, assessing and
communicating economic concepts to a variety of potential audiences. A significant element of
the course is weekly writing assignments submitted through Kritik.io, a peer-to-peer learning
platform. The assignments are aimed at developing each student’s ability to summarize,
critique and compare both academic and non-academic articles. Using Kritik, students will also
be required to provide constructive criticism of the work of other students, and then provide
feedback.
When you participate in Kritik activities, you will receive 3 scores: “Creation” score,
“Evaluation” score and “Participation” score. Together, these will add up to 20% of your final
course mark. To understand what these scores are and how they are calculated, please read the
section “how marks are calculated” on Kritik’s help center.
An email invitation will be sent to your school email account that contains the link to register an
account on Kritik online and enrol in the course. You MUST use your university email to sign up
in order to access the course.
How to get help: If you have any questions about Kritik, please contact their support team at
support@kritik.io or use the live chat in the app. They usually respond promptly in a few
minutes during business hours. For a brief introduction and overview, you can also the visit
Kritik Help Center at https://www.kritik.io/student-user-guidance-page.
3Winter 2020 EC310F – Sports Economics Draft Course Outline
Preliminary Kritik Writing Schedule
1) Article Summary – due January 14th
2) Paper Proposal – due January 22nd
3) Article Comparison – due January 28th
4) Article Critique – due February 4th
5) Annotated Bibliography – due February 25th
6) Editorial Version – due March 3rd
7) Paper Draft – due March 10th
8) Video Presentation – due March 24th
Final Paper
The final assignment will be a short paper (1500 – 2000 words) on a topic of your choice. The
paper must reference current academic and non-academic sources, but may take a form of
your choice (literature review, research paper, report, essay). In addition to the final paper,
students must prepare a 3-minute video related to their paper – this also could take a variety of
forms. We will discuss these in the second half of the course.
Mid-term Tests
The first midterm test is scheduled to be written in-class on Monday, February 10th. Students
will have 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete the test, which may include multiple choice, short
answer and short essay questions. It is worth 20% of your overall grade. Students that miss the
midterm test for an acceptable, documented, reason will be permitted to write a makeup test,
date, time and format to be determined.
The second midterm test is scheduled as a take-home midterm due by the end of the day on
Monday, March 16th. There is no class on that day to provide students with additional time to
complete the midterm. This midterm will consist of 4 short essay questions, with some choice
of topics. Students are permitted to make use of a variety of sources, including online sources,
but are expected to develop and write their answers on their own. Discussing the test or their
answers with other students is not permitted. The second midterm is worth 20% of your overall
grade. Students are required to submit the midterm through MyLearningSpace, with late
submissions of this midterm will be penalized at the rate of 20% per day or partial day.
A comprehensive final exam will be scheduled for EC310F, worth 0% of your grade. Students
that have not completed one of the midterms, the final paper, or a significant amount of the
online assessment for acceptable and documented reasons, may have the opportunity to shift
grading weight to the final exam.
4Winter 2020 EC310F – Sports Economics Draft Course Outline
Preliminary Course Schedule
Part A – Problem Solving
Week 1 - Introduction – January 6th
a) Szymanski, The Assessment: The Economics of Sport, Oxford Review of Economic
Papers, 2003.
b) Neugeboren, R.H., The Student’s Guide to writing economics. 2005. Available for
download from the Laurier Library.
c) Goolsbee, Chapter 18
Week 2 – Games – January 13th – Simultaneous and Sequential Games
a) Goolsbee, Levitt and Syverson – Chapter 12
b) Gibbons, An Introduction to Applicable Game Theory, Journal of Economic Perspectives,
1997. (pages 127-137 are most relevant for the course)
Week 3 – Teams – January 20th – Profit vs. Wins, Ticket Pricing
a) Goolsbee, Levitt and Syverson – Chapter 9-11, focus on Chapter 10
b) Berri chapter 1-3
Week 4 – Leagues – January 27th – Leagues as Cartels, Entry Drafts, Expansion, Public Finance
a) Berri chapters 4 and 10
b) Goolsbee, Ch. 17
Week 5 – Players – February 3rd – Compensation, Free Agency, Adverse Selection
a) Berri chapters 5 through 8
b) Goolsbee, Ch.13, 14 and 16
Midterm – Monday, February 10th – 7:00pm to 9:00pm
5Winter 2020 EC310F – Sports Economics Draft Course Outline
Part B – Critical Thinking
After reading week, the focus of the course shifts to the analysis of complex issues in the
economics of sport, with a focus on understanding how to analyze problems with missing
information and how to simplify and communicate difficult concepts.
Week 7 – Developing Critical Thinking – February 24th
a) Neugeboren, R.H., The Student’s Guide to writing economics. 2005. Available for
download from the Laurier Library.
b) Additional reading TBA
Week 8 – Applying Critical Thinking – March 2nd
Guest lecture with Stephen Wenn – Olympics, media and sponsorship
a) Reading TBA
Week 9 – Demonstrating Critical Thinking – March 9th
Writing for an audience
a) Reading TBA
b) Rough draft of the final paper due on Kritik, Tuesday, March 10th
Week 10 – Midterm Test 2 – Take-Home Midterm, due at 10pm, March 16th
Week 11 – Economics of University Athletics – March 23rd
a) Berri chapter 9
b) Readings TBA
Week 12 – Conclusion – March 30th
6Winter 2020 EC310F – Sports Economics Draft Course Outline
Course Policies and Procedures
Missing/Late Assessments
Due to the timely nature of the minor items of assessment, late submissions will not be
accepted for any reason. As issues may arise over the term, the grading structure allows for
students to miss some assessments without having their overall grade affected. Students that
miss substantive portions of the course (more than the allowable dropped assessments) for
documented reasons may request consideration in the final grading process. Where
appropriate, this will generally involve a re-weighting of grades across elements of the course.
Late submissions of the take-home midterm or final paper will be penalized with a 20% grade
reduction per day or partial day late.
Missed Midterm
Students that will miss the first midterm for any reason, including religious observance,
participation in varsity or non-varsity athletics, or illness should contact me as soon as practical
given the circumstances. A deferred midterm will be
Accessible Learning
Students with disabilities or other special needs are advised to contact Laurier's Accessible
Learning Centre for information regarding its services and resources. Students are encouraged
to review the Calendar for information regarding all services available on campus.
Academic Misconduct
You are reminded that the University will levy sanctions on students who are found to have
committed, or have attempted to commit, acts of academic or research misconduct. You are
expected to know what constitutes an academic offense, to avoid committing such offenses,
and to take responsibility for your academic actions. For information on categories of offenses
and types of penalty, please consult the relevant section of the Undergraduate Academic
Calendar. If you need clarification of aspects of University policy on Academic and Research
Misconduct, please consult your instructor.
7Winter 2020 EC310F – Sports Economics Draft Course Outline
Policy on Technology Use
Students may use computers and other devices during class as long as they are using them for
course-related reasons. Everyone is expected to be considerate of those around them, and
students with larger devices are asked to sit at the sides or back of the room where you will not
block other students. Students that are disruptive to others may be asked to either put their
device away, or leave the classroom.
Intellectual Property
The educational materials developed for this course, including, but not limited to, lecture notes
and slides, handout materials, examinations and assignments, and any materials posted to
MyLearningSpace, are the intellectual property of the course instructor. These materials have
been developed for student use only and they are not intended for wider dissemination and/or
communication outside of a given course. Posting or providing unauthorized audio, video, or
textual material of lecture content to third-party websites violates an instructor’s intellectual
property rights, and the Canadian Copyright Act. Recording lectures in any way is prohibited in
this course unless specific permission has been granted by the instructor. Failure to follow
these instructions may be in contravention of the university’s Code of Student Conduct and/or
Code of Academic Conduct, and will result in appropriate penalties. Participation in this course
constitutes an agreement by all parties to abide by the relevant University Policies, and to
respect the intellectual property of others during and after their association with Wilfrid Laurier
University.
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