Simon Rottenberg and Baseball, Then and Now: A 50th Anniversary Retrospective
Working Paper No. 06-W06
Allen R. Sanderson and John J. Siegfried
ABSTRACT [article]
Fifty years ago the JPE published Simon Rottenberg's "The Baseball Players' Labor Market", the first professional journal article in sports economics. In this retrospective we review some of his insights and analyses with regard to competitive
balance, constraints on payroll and freedoms to contract, revenue sharing, territorial rights and the supply of talent. We also note subsequent industry developments Rottenberg could not have anticipated, and identify where he was ahead of his time.
Keywords and Phrases: Rottenberg, baseball, invariance theorem, Coase theorem, reserve clause
JEL Classification Number: B21, B31, D23, J3, J4, L83