Topic：Once a Loser, Always a Loser? The effect of relegation on future career development in England Soccer League

Speaker: Sun, Ang

Affiliation: Renmin University of China

Time：2:00-3:30pm, November 27

Location：Room 217
， Guanghua New Building

Speaker’s CV: Download PDF

Abstract: We explore job quality state dependence and human capital accumulation by examining the effect of team relegation on team players’ short term and long term career development in the England Premier League. We use the rankings of teams to compare the players in the quad of the closely relegated teams (the “relegated team players”) with those in the quad of the teams that closely maintained their position (the “nonrelegated team players”). The relegated team players and nonrelegated team players have similar trends in job quality before the relegation season. During the first three years after relegation season, the relegated team players played in teams ranked significantly lower than their nonrelegated team peers. But the direction of this difference reversed after the sixth season. We find that the relegated team players have significantly more appearances during the first few years after relegation, which suggests human capital accumulation through learning-by-doing. Consistent with this hypothesis, we find the pattern that relegated team players exceeded their nonrelegated peers in job quality in the long run only happens on players below 30 at the relegation season, because the older cohorts generally benefit less on human capital accumulation through practice in the field.