Beautiful Game Theory: How Soccer Can Help Economics

Ignacio Palacios-Huerta

Published by Princeton University Press 2014

Beautiful Game Theory

How Soccer Can Help Economics

Ignacio Palacios-Huerta

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400850310

Overview
Contents

About this book

The first book to use the world's most popular sport to test economic theories and document novel human behavior

A wealth of research in recent decades has seen the economic approach to human behavior extended over many areas previously considered to belong to sociology, political science, law, and other fields. Research has also shown that economics can provide insight into many aspects of sports, including soccer. Beautiful Game Theory is the first book that uses soccer to test economic theories and document novel human behavior.

In this brilliant and entertaining book, Ignacio Palacios-Huerta illuminates economics through the world's most popular sport. He offers unique and often startling insights into game theory and microeconomics, covering topics such as mixed strategies, discrimination, incentives, and human preferences. He also looks at finance, experimental economics, behavioral economics, and neuroeconomics. Soccer provides rich data sets and environments that shed light on universal economic principles in interesting and useful ways.

Essential reading for students, researchers, and sports enthusiasts, Beautiful Game Theory is the first book to show what soccer can do for economics.

Author / Editor information

Ignacio Palacios-Huerta is professor of management, economics, and strategy at the London School of Economics, and head of talent identification at Athletic Club de Bilbao, a professional soccer club in Spain.

Reviews

"Palacios-Huerta is perhaps the preeminent economist using sports applications to help us learn about economics."—J. James Reade, University of Reading

"This is an excellent book by an author who has made innovative and powerful contributions to our understanding of soccer and economics."—Stefan Szymanski, coauthor of Soccernomics

"This stimulating book shows that an understanding of economic ideas gives deep insights into soccer play, and that soccer provides important evidence to test various theories of economic behavior, such as efficient markets and social influences on behavior. You do not have to be a soccer fan to learn from and enjoy this engaging book."—Gary S. Becker, University of Chicago and Nobel Laureate in Economics

"Beautiful Game Theory shows what it is like to think deeply about a sport and to test your ideas with data. . . . [I]t is a book I recommend unconditionally to those economists with even a passing sport."---John Considine, Sportseconomics.org

"[E]njoyably accessible to nonspecialists, especially sports enthusiasts, who will learn a great deal about soccer, economics, and human behavior more generally."

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
INTRODUCTION Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
FIRST HALF
1. Pelé Meets John von Neumann in the Penalty Area Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	9
2. Vernon Smith Meets Messi in the Laboratory Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	31
3. Lessons for Experimental Design Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	45
4. Mapping Minimax in the Brain Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	58
5. Psychological Pressure on the Field and Elsewhere Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	68
HALFTIME
6. Scoring at Halftime Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	89
SECOND HALF
7. Favoritism under Social Pressure Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	107
8. Making the Beautiful Game a Bit Less Beautiful 124 (with Luis Garicano) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	124
9. Fear Pitch Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	151
10. From Argentina without Emotions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	164
11. Discrimination: From the Makana Football Association to Europe Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	174
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	193
REFERENCES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	195
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	205

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