The Economics of Sports 7th Edition Solutions Manual | Michael Leeds, Peter von Allmen & Victor Matheson | Comprehensive Chapter Solutions & Study Guide 2026–2027

The Economics of Sports 7th Edition Solutions Manual | Michael
Leeds, Peter von Allmen & Victor Matheson | Comprehensive
Chapter Solutions & Study Guide 2026–2027

All chapters covered




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,The Economics of Sports 7e Michael Leeds, Peter von Allmen, Victor Matheson
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(Solutions Manual All Chapters, 100% Original Verified, A+ Grade)
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Instructor’s Manual for The Economics of Sports, 7th edition Revised u u u u u u u u u




and updated by Dr Qi Ge, Vassar College, New York, USA
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Chapter 1 u




Economics and Sports u u




◼ Outline
Introduction

1.1 The Organization of the Textu u u u




1.2 Babe Ruth and Comparative Advantage u u u u




Opportunity Costs u




Absolute and Comparative Advantage u u u




u Biographical Sketch: Babe Didrikson Zaharias u u u u




u Summary, Discussion Questions, Problems u u u




◼ Teaching Tips and Additional Examples u u u u




A unique challenge in teaching a course in the economics of sports is refining student expectations for the
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class. Indeed, some professors and departments have been reluctant to offer a course in this field over worries
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that it will attract students wishing to take a “blow-off” course or that the topic of sports cannot be made
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rigorous enough to be included in a college curriculum. Therefore, it is important from the very beginning of
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the class to emphasize that the course is first and foremost an economics class and that sports merely supplies
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the context in which to study economics. As noted by a colleague, “Expectations can sometimes be seriously
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off track for those students who may have chosen the course more because they saw the word ‘sports’ in the
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title rather the word ‘economics.’ ” As you go over the syllabus, it is important to emphasize the economic
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theories that you look forward to covering as opposed to the sports events and history. As the prerequisites for
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this course vary greatly from school to school, as does the intended audience, it may be worthwhile to collect
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information from each student about past coursework in economics and math in order to tailor the class to the
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ability level of the students enrolled.
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It may be helpful to stress that economics is an incredibly flexible subject that can be applied to just about any
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facet of life. In this respect, as the course progresses it is often useful to remind the students some parallel
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application to the current topic. The key is to show that the economic principles (and therefore the rigor)
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does not change even if the application of those principles do. This is particularly important if the class is
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offered as a lower level elective with minimal prerequisites but ends up attracting an audience primarily made
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up of senior economics majors. With a diverse distribution of students, the emphasis on the application of
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economics will help teach the principles to those who may be seeing these concepts for the first time, and
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reinforcing them to the more advanced students.
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It may also be worthwhile to poll students about their favorite sports and teams, again to tailor the class to the
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interests of students in class. For example, when teaching competitive balance one can draw examples from
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any league, and using a sport for which students in class have expressed a preference is likely to keep students
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more interested in the topic even as the technical details of measuring competitive balance are explained.
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Similarly, a class with a large number of foreign students, for example, is likely to express
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,more interest in soccer over the “big four” American leagues. In this respect the inclusion of more international
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sports as the editions progressed should benefit the student body.
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As Chapter 1 of the text notes, the text explores sports as it applies to three major areas of economics: industrial
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organization, public finance, and labor. As an opening exercise, you might consider asking the class to give
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examples of how economic forces impact professional and major amateur sports without first prompting them
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about the three areas. Once they have accumulated a good list on the board, see if they can divide those issues
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into the three areas. Some issues, such as those related to competitive balance, will be addressed in more than
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one area—you can note that as you go along.
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Chapter 1 spends a significantly time on comparative advantage, so be prepared to dive right in on the first day
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of class. A fun exercise that utilizes students’ sports knowledge while reinforcing the idea of comparative
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advantage is to identify other multi-sport athletes and examine their career choices. Charlie Ward, the 1993
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Heisman Trophy winner, chose an NBA career over the NFL, Baseball Hall-of-Famer, Dave Winfield was
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drafted by the NBA, ABA, NFL, and MLB, and Hale Irwin, a 3-time U.S. Open winner and the all-time
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winningest player on the Senior PGA tour, was a top defensive back for the University of Colorado. Deon
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Sanders and Bo Jackson were other multi-sport stars. Byron “Whizzer” White, ultimately chose a law career
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over an NFL career even after leading the league in rushing in 1938. White eventually became a Supreme
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Court Justice.
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◼ Additional Sources u




Throughout the course students will need to keep abreast of current events. Fortunately, this requires nothing
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more than access to the Internet. For each chapter this manual includes examples of quality Web sites that
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provide lots of information regarding the sports industry. For the instructor, there are several additional
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sources that are worth considering.
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Film, Television, and Radio: If you like to supplement your classes with film, we recommend the Ken Burns
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series Baseball. It is divided into 18 episodes (“top of the first” through “bottom of the ninth”). Each one
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considers a different topic in the development of professional baseball in the United States. Burns addresses
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everything from attempts to form rival leagues to the history of the reserve clause to discrimination. Bill
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Littlefield’s Only a Game, is an informative and amusing weekly radio show appearing on National Public
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Radio. Check your local listings for times.
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Trade Publications: Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal. This weekly publication provides interesting
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profiles of specific sports, data on attendance, articles, and commentaries on the business aspects of sports.
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While a normal subscription is not cheap, a far less expensive semester-long student subscription is available.
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For more information, check their Web site at http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/.
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Podcasts: Podcasts are segments, or episodes that are organized via a digital media outlet. They can be
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listened to over the internet or oftentimes downloaded on many smartphones. Finding relevant and reliable
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podcasts can be very beneficial; two sources can be found at www.econtalk.org and www.freakonomics.com
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. A good starting point may be an interview by sports economist Roger Noll on EconTalk on August 27th,
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2012. Slate magazine’s ‘Hang up and Listen’ podcast is another useful source.
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Academic Journals: The Journal of Sports Economics remains the “must have” journal for all instructors of a
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course in sports economics. For subscription information, go to the Sage Publications Web site at
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http://www.sagepub.com. Other high quality, sports-themed academic journals with frequent economic
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content include International Journal of Sports Finance, Journal of Sport Management, Journal of Sport
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, and Social Issues, European Sport Management Quarterly, International Journal of Sport Management and
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Marketing, and Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports.
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On-line Sources: www.sportsbusinessnews.com provides good information and reactions to what is
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happening in sports from a business perspective. You can even elect to receive their “daily dose” of sports
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business news. www.thesportseconomist.com is a blog written by a group of the top economists in the field
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and consistently provides interesting economic analysis of current issues in sports.
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◼ Solutions to Back-of-Chapter Problems u u u




1.1 Use an appropriate economic theory to explain why LeBron James might employ someone to answer his
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fan mail even if he can read the letters and type the responses more quickly than the person he employs?
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Answer: If LeBron were able to answer his fan mail more quickly than someone he hires; this would
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imply LeBron has an absolute advantage in answering fan mail. LeBron is still likely,
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however, to have a comparative advantage in playing basketball, and therefore he should
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specialize in playing basketball and hire someone else to answer his fan mail.
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1.2 Is the following statement true or false? Explain your reasoning. “I am attending college on a full
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athletic scholarship, so the opportunity cost of attending college is zero for me.”
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Answer: False. The student is also giving up his or her time. A prime example of this is players who
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leave college early to enter the pros. The opportunity cost of attending college for a top
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basketball player is the lost chance to play in the NBA.
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1.3 From 1946 through 1967, the placekicker for the Cleveland Browns, Lou Groza, was successful on
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54.9 percent of his field goal attempts. In 2021, the Browns’ kicker was Cody Parkey, who was
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successful on 84.6 percent of his attempts. Use the theory of comparative advantage to explain the
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massive improvement in the Browns’ kicking game.
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Answer: While Groza was best known for his kicking, he also played offensive tackle for most of his
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career. In the modern game, players are able to specialize, thereby improving their skills.
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This can result in higher field goal percentages for more recent players like Cody Parkey.
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1.4 The term “figure skating” refers to the shapes that skaters used to trace in the ice as part of skating
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competitions. In the 1970s, this aspect of the sport was deemphasized and eventually eliminated. Use the
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theory of comparative advantage to show why eliminating this part of the competition has led skaters to
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perform much more difficult and sophisticated jumps and spins.
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Answer: The elimination of tracing figures allows skaters to specialize in other techniques such as
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jumps and spins that most fans find more exciting. It also encourages more athletic skaters
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with a comparative advantage in these skills to enter the sport. u u u u u u u u u u u




1.5 Rose Lavelle is widely considered one of the best midfielders in women’s soccer. She is also an
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effective attacker, scoring three goals in the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Based on the theory of
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comparative advantage, what position should Lavelle play?
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Answer: Based on the theory of comparative advantage Lavelle should play midfielder. Lavelle may
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have an absolute advantage in playing midfielder and attacker over many players but she
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clearly has the comparative advantage in midfielder. Therefore, specializing in midfield
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would yield a better team outcome. u u u u u u




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