By David Butler
In a recent paper published in Sports Economics Review, colleagues and I investigate the presence of nationality salary premia in two top European football leagues (the Premier League and Serie A).
The main finding is a substantial pay premium for South American players of between 11% and 15%. We find no evidence of a salary penalty for domestic players. This salary premium is driven mostly by Brazilian, Uruguayan and Argentine players. We explore a range of issues around this and ask if the salary effects are driven by new entrants to the league, and whether they are reflected in team attendances and team performance. Fans appear to respond to higher proportions of South American players in England, but not in Italy. One other notable findings is that African players appear to be underpaid in England given their contributions to team performances.
We offer conjecture on why certain South Americans are paid more. Perhaps their nationality is a credible (quality) signal, this may relate to recruitment and scouting networks within the countries or it could be explained by infrastructure in these countries. Political factors may also play a role and there could be interactive mechanism here.
The full paper can be accessed here
In a recent paper published in Sports Economics Review, colleagues and I investigate the presence of nationality salary premia in two top European football leagues (the Premier League and Serie A).
The main finding is a substantial pay premium for South American players of between 11% and 15%. We find no evidence of a salary penalty for domestic players. This salary premium is driven mostly by Brazilian, Uruguayan and Argentine players. We explore a range of issues around this and ask if the salary effects are driven by new entrants to the league, and whether they are reflected in team attendances and team performance. Fans appear to respond to higher proportions of South American players in England, but not in Italy. One other notable findings is that African players appear to be underpaid in England given their contributions to team performances.
We offer conjecture on why certain South Americans are paid more. Perhaps their nationality is a credible (quality) signal, this may relate to recruitment and scouting networks within the countries or it could be explained by infrastructure in these countries. Political factors may also play a role and there could be interactive mechanism here.
The full paper can be accessed here
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