Racial Integration as an Innovation: Empirical Evidence from Sports Leagues

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2002
Volume: 92
Issue: 1
Pages: 16-26

Authors (3)

Brian L. Goff (not in RePEc) Robert E. McCormick Robert D. Tollison

Score contribution per author:

2.681 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This paper treats racial integration as an innovation in economic process in which economic entities find it advantageous to utilize potentially more productive inputs previously unavailable due to law, custom, or managerial discretion. Data on the racial integration of Major League Baseball and Atlantic Coast Conference basketball are employed to address this issue. The central question examined is which type of team integrated first—losers or winners? The results strongly support the idea that entrepreneurship trumps competitive rivalry; that is, winning teams led the process of racial integration.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:92:y:2002:i:1:p:16-26
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-26