Gains from specialization and free agency : the story from the gridiron

Simmons, Robert and Berri, David J. (2009) Gains from specialization and free agency : the story from the gridiron. Review of Industrial Organization, 34 (1). pp. 81-98. ISSN 0889-938X

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Abstract

In the field of personnel economics, there are few opportunities to convincingly test for salary returns to specialization as against versatility. This paper performs such a test by modeling returns to performance measures associated with two different skills practiced by running backs in the National Football League. We find gains to both specialization and free agency with substantial predicted differences in returns for alternative skills. These differences vary across the salary distribution. In the top half of the salary distribution, model simulations show that specialists in either particular skill generate higher marginal returns than do versatile players.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Review of Industrial Organization
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1400/1407
Subjects:
?? free agencynational football leaguesalary specializationorganizational behavior and human resource managementeconomics and econometricsstrategy and managementmanagement of technology and innovationdiscipline-based research ??
ID Code:
45329
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
11 Jul 2011 18:30
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
16 Mar 2024 00:37