Rod's Sports Economics

My place, and welcome to it

Brief Bio/Introduction

This page describes my work as a sports economics consultant.  Mostly, this work involves work with lawyers on issues of valuation and economic predictions about particular legal decisions that might be made.

I received my PhD from Caltech in 1985. I'm a full professor. After 23 years in an economics department, I have been Professor of Sport Management at the University of Michigan since 2007.  I teach Sports Economics and the Economics of Sports Law.

According to my book jacket notes I'm a recognized authority on sports economics and business, both in the U.S. and internationally.  I have the requisite "dozens of articles and monographs" that cover sports topics as diverse as cross-subsidies in U.S. sports leagues, predatory behavior by Major League Baseball toward African American Baseball Leagues during integration, the time series analysis of competitive balance and attendance, and comparative analysis of North American and world sports leagues.  I'm published in the American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Economic Literature, Economic Inquiry, Scottish Journal of Political Economy, and the Journal of Sports Economics. I also serve on the editorial boards of the Journal of Sports Economics, Eastern Economic Journal, and the International Journal of Sport Finance.  I also currently serve as a vice-president of the International Association of Sports Economists.

I speak regularly on sports issues on NPR and enjoyed the opportunity to appear on Hockey Night in Canada with host Ron MacLean.  I've participated at seminars and conferences at Vanderbilt University, Temple University, Washington University, Tufts University, The Independent Institute in Oakland, and Middlebury College.  It has been my good fortune to be invited for international presentations at sports congresses in Gijon, Spain; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Cologne, Germany; and Neuchatel, Switzerland.  I also presented the first ever Hill Lecture at the Washington State Historical Society and the 35th Annual Economics Lecture at Western Michigan University.