Special topics in business: Sports

This course introduces core economic concepts developed through examples from the sports industry. The sports industry provides a seemingly endless set of examples from every area of microeconomics, giving students the opportunity to study economics in a context that holds their interest. The Economics of Sports explores economic concepts and theory of industrial organization, public finance, and labor economics in the context of applications and examples from American, European, and international sports.

By the end of this course, you will have a more complete understanding of the economic issues affecting the world of sports. You will be able to comment intelligently on economic issues of sports that appear in the news media, such as the impact of the draft system, as well as assess and critique the opinions offered by journalists on, for example, the pay and performance of professional athletes. This is a unique opportunity to understand why there has been a recent explosion in interest among economists about the market of sports and the potential of sports data to develop and test theories about the wider business world.

Presented in an accessible yet rigorous style, supported by easy-to-follow pedagogical features, such as hands-on seminar discussions of contemporary case studies and a companion website that offers useful resources for students, this is the perfect course for intermediate and advanced undergraduate and graduate students alike.