Top

Economics of Governance

Published in:

18-05-2022 | Original Paper

New sports facilities do not drive migration between US cities

Authors: Imran Arif, Adam Hoffer, Brad Humphreys, Matthew Style

Published in: Economics of Governance | Issue 3-4/2022

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config

AI-assisted search

Off

Abstract

Migrants play a vital role in economic development, and city amenities play an important role in attracting migrants. This paper explores the role of one such amenity—major league sports stadiums—plays in intra-U.S. migration decisions. We use Internal Revenue Service tax-filing data and stadium construction data for major sports stadiums between 1991 and 2014 to create an unbalanced panel of migration flows between 439,386 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) pairs. Analyzing migration patterns over various time windows following the construction of new sports facilities, we find little evidence that new sports facility construction or the aggregate expenditures on new sports stadiums draw migrants between U.S. MSAs. We find weak evidence that suggests stadium construction acts as a deterrent to migration. Our primary conclusion is that spending on stadiums is not only ineffective in attracting migrants, but the opportunity cost associated with stadium construction likely reduces the ability of MSAs to attract migrants through the provision of other amenities or public goods.

previous article The Politics of Sports: Introduction to the Special Issue

next article Does hosting a professional sports team benefit the local community? Evidence from property assessments

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 102.000 Bücher
über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Finance + Banking
Management + Führung
Marketing + Vertrieb
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 67.000 Bücher
über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Finance + Banking
Management + Führung
Marketing + Vertrieb
Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Available only for authorised users

The literature on new sports facilities and residential property markets is large. Keeler et al. (2021) contain a recent summary. Propheter (2019) develops evidence of impacts on commercial property values.

See Santos-Silva and Tenreyro (2011), Nejad and Young (2016), Arif (2020), and Arif et al. (2020) for a thorough discussion of PPML in the context of migration gravity models.

Albouy D, Cho H, Shappo M (2021) Immigration and the pursuit of amenities. J Reg Sci 61(1):5–29CrossRef

Arif I (2020) The determinants of international migration: Unbundling the role of political, economic, and social institutions. World Econ 43:1699–1729CrossRef

Arif I (2022) Educational attainment, corruption, and migration: an empirical analysis from a gravity model. Econ Model 110:105802CrossRef

Arif I, Hoffer A, Stansel D, Lacombe D (2020) Economic freedom and migration: a metro area-level analysis. South Econ J 87(1):170–190CrossRef

Backman M, Nilsson P (2018) The role of cultural heritage in attracting skilled individuals. J Cult Econ 42(1):111–138CrossRef

Baudasse T, Bazillier R (2014) Gender inequality and emigration: push factor or selection process? Int Econ 139:19–47CrossRef

Broxterman D, Coulson E, Ihlanfeldt K, Letdin M, Zabel J (2019) Endogenous amenities and cities. J Reg Sci 59(3):365–368CrossRef

Beine M, Parsons C (2015) Climatic factors as determinants of international migration. Scand J Econ 117(2):723–767CrossRef

Belot M, Ederveen S (2012) Cultural barriers in migration between OECD countries. J Popul Econ 25(3):1077–1105CrossRef

Belot MV, Hatton TJ (2012) Immigrant selection in the OECD. Scand J Econ 114(4):1105–1128CrossRef

Bertoli S, Fernández-Huertas Moraga J (2013) Multilateral resistance to migration. J Dev Econ 102:79–100

Borjas GJ (1995) The economic benefits from immigration. J Econ Perspect 9(2):3–22CrossRef

Carlino GA, Saiz A (2019) Beautiful city: leisure amenities and urban growth. J Reg Sci 59(3):369–408CrossRef

Coates D, Humphreys BR (2005) Novelty effects of new facilities on attendance at professional sporting events. Contemp Econ Policy 23(3):436–455CrossRef

Coates D, Humphreys BR (2008) Do economists reach a conclusion on subsidies for sports franchises, stadiums, and mega-events. Econ J Watch 5(3):294–315

Clemens MA (2014) Does development reduce migration. In: International handbook on migration and economic development, pp 152–185

Dao TH, Docquier F, Parsons C, Peri G (2018) Migration and development: dissecting the anatomy of the mobility transition. J Dev Econ 132:88–101CrossRef

Docquier F, Peri G, Ruyssen I (2014) The cross-country determinants of potential and actual migration. Int Migr Rev 48:S37–S99CrossRef

Docquier F, Tansel A, Turati R (2017) Do emigrants self-select along cultural traits? Evidence from the MENA countries. SSRN (June)

Dreher A, Krieger T, Meierrieks D (2011) Hit and (they will) run: the impact of terrorism on migration. Econ Lett 113(1):42–46CrossRef

Drukker AJ, Gayer T, Gold AK (2020) Tax-exempt municipal bonds and the financing of professional sports stadiums. Natl Tax J 73(1):157–196CrossRef

Falco C, Rotondi V (2016) The less extreme, the more you leave: radical Islam and willingness to migrate. World Dev 88:122–133CrossRef

Glaeser EL, Shapiro JM (2001) City growth and the 2000 census: which places grew, and why. Brookings Institution, Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, Washington, DC

Gomez-Herrera E (2013) Comparing alternative methods to estimate gravity models of bilateral trade. Empir Econ 44(3):1087–1111CrossRef

Haddock D, Jacobi T, Sag M (2013) League structure & stadium rent seeking-the role of antitrust revisited. Fla l Rev 65:1

Hiwatari M (2016) Social networks and migration decisions: the influence of peer effects in rural households in Central Asia. J Comp Econ 44(4):1115–1131CrossRef

Hudson I (2002) Sabotage versus public choice: sports as a case study for interest group theory. J Econ Issues 36(4):1079–1096CrossRef

Humphreys BR (2019) Should the construction of new professional sports facilities be subsidized. J Policy Anal Manage 38(1):264–270CrossRef

Humphreys BR, Zhou Li (2015) Sports facilities, agglomeration, and public subsidies. Reg Sci Urban Econ 54:60–73CrossRef

Ivlevs A, King RM (2017) Does emigration reduce corruption? Public Choice 171(34):389–408CrossRef

Kalich VZ (1998) A public choice perspective on the subsidization of private industry: a case study of three cities and three stadiums. J Urban Aff 20(2):199–219CrossRef

Keeler ZT, Stephens HM, Humphreys BR (2021) The amenity value of sports facilities: evidence from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. J Sports Econ (in press)

Krieger T, Renner L, Ruhose J (2018) Long-term relatedness between countries and international migrant selection. J Int Econ 113:35–54CrossRef

Mayda AM (2010) International migration: a panel data analysis of the determinants of bilateral flows. J Popul Econ 23(4):1249–1274CrossRef

McKenzie D, Rapoport H (2010) Self-selection patterns in Mexico-U.S. migration: the role of migration networks. Rev Econ Stat 92(4):811–821

Mitchell MD (2019) Uncontestable favoritism. Public Choice 181(1):167–190CrossRef

Nejad M, Young AT (2016) Want freedom, will travel: emigrant self-selection according to institutional quality. Eur J Polit Econ 45:71–84CrossRef

Orlowski J, Wicker P (2019) Monetary valuation of non-market goods and services: a review of conceptual approaches and empirical applications in sports. Eur Sport Manag Q 19(4):456–480CrossRef

Ortega F, Peri G (2013) The effect of income and immigration policies on international migration. Migration Studies 1(1):47–74CrossRef

Papapanagos H, Sanfey P (2001) Intention to emigrate in transition countries: the case of Albania. J Popul Econ 14(3):491–504CrossRef

Pavlik JB, Estefania LP, Benjamin P (2021) Simpler evidence on immigration and institutions: an assessment. Econ J Watch 18(1) (2021)

Poprawe M (2015) On the relationship between corruption and migration: empirical evidence from a gravity model of migration. Public Choice 163(3–4):337–354CrossRef

Poutvaara P, Steinhardt MF (2018) Bitterness in life and attitudes towards immigration. Eur J Polit Econ

Propheter G (2019) Estimating the effect of sports facilities on local area commercial rents: evidence from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. J Sports Econ 20(1):91–114CrossRef

Rappaport J (2007) Moving to nice weather. Reg Sci Urban Econ 37(3):375–398CrossRef

Santos-Silva J, Tenreyro S (2011) Further simulation evidence on the performance of the Poisson-PML estimator. Econ Lett 112(2):220–222CrossRef

Stansel D (2019) Economic freedom in U.S. metropolitan areas. J Reg Anal Policy 49(1):40–48

White R (2013) Is cultural distance a determinant of international migration flows? evidence from Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. Econ Bull 33(3):2156–2168

White R, Buehler D (2018) A closer look at the determinants of international migration: decomposing cultural distance. Appl Econ 50(33):3575–3595CrossRef

Title: New sports facilities do not drive migration between US cities
Authors: Imran Arif
Adam Hoffer
Brad Humphreys
Matthew Style
Publication date: 18-05-2022
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: Economics of Governance / Issue 3-4/2022
Print ISSN: 1435-6104
Electronic ISSN: 1435-8131
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10101-022-00271-4

Springer Professional

Abstract

Please log in to get access to your license.

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Other articles of this Issue 3-4/2022

The Politics of Sports: Introduction to the Special Issue

An artefactual field experiment of group discrimination between sports fans

State politics and gender diversity in sport governance

Does hosting a professional sports team benefit the local community? Evidence from property assessments

Association membership, election cycles, and political donation patterns

Professional team sporting success: do economic and personal freedom provide competitive advantages?

Premium Partner