Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Carlo Bellavite Pellegrini
Author-X-Name-First: Carlo
Author-X-Name-Last: Bellavite Pellegrini
Author-Email: carlo.bellavite@unicatt.it
Author-Workplace-Name: Dipartimento di Politica Economica, DISCE, & Centro Studi Economia Applicata (CSEA), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Author-Name: Raul Caruso
Author-X-Name-First: Raul
Author-X-Name-Last: Caruso
Author-Email: raul.caruso@unicatt.it
Author-Workplace-Name: Dipartimento di Politica Economica, DISCE, & Centro Studi Economia Applicata (CSEA), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore - Catholic University ‘Our Lady of Good Counsel’, Tirana, European Center of Peace Science, Integration and Cooperation (CESPIC)
Author-Name: Marco Di Domizio
Author-X-Name-First: Marco
Author-X-Name-Last: Di Domizio
Author-Email: mdidomizio@unite.it
Author-Workplace-Name: Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche, Università di Teramo - Centro Studi Economia Applicata (CSEA), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Title: Relative wages, payroll structure and performance in soccer. Evidence from Italian Serie A (2007-2019) 
Abstract: This paper investigates the role of payroll and its distribution in determining the seasonal performances of Italian football teams playing in Serie A. The novelty of our investigation lies in the introduction of a new extent upon which to compute traditional measures of dispersion of payroll. We calculate the coefficient of variation on real wages, on corrected wages and on weighted wages, using players’ characteristics, so that the players’ own perceived differences are considered. This aids us in testing for the role of envy in determining the teams’ performances. We exploit a data set on Serie A from 2007 to 2019, exploring the wages of 1,509 players in different seasons, to produce 4,633 total observations. Since Serie A is an open league with seasonal relegations and promotions, we have unbalanced panel data derived from 220 observations of 35 teams over 11 seasons. We use the percentage of points achieved by teams and a measure associated to the position of the team (rank) at the end of the first round of each season as dependent variables, and then we employ panel data techniques to estimate fixed effect models. We find a statistically significant association of team performance with relative wages and with previous results, while the salary dispersion seems to have no effect on performances. Moreover, by restricting our sample to teams that have never been relegated, and so balancing the panel, our empirical investigation validates the cohesion theory, since more equally weighted wages are associated with better on-field performances. 
Length: 28 
Creation-Date: 2021-01
File-URL: http://dipartimenti.unicatt.it/politica-economica-DIPE0015.pdf
File-Format: Application/pdf
File-Function: First version, 2021
Number: dipe0015
Classification-JEL: Z20, Z22, Z21, L83, J49
Keywords: relative wage, payroll distribution, sport performance, Italian Serie A
Handle: RePEc:ctc:serie5:dipe0015