Date of Award
2018
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
Collins, Tracy
Area of Concentration
Economics
Abstract
This thesis explores the increasing performance gap between football clubs in European football. Much of this performance gap can be attributed to a small group of wealthier clubs’ ability to afford the most expensive and talented players in the world via paying exorbitant transfer fees for such players at the expense of most other clubs. This financial disparity is measured through an economic analysis of the current state of the transfer market, a figurative marketplace through which players are bought and sold amongst clubs. The formation of performance-based oligopolies is considered through analyzing the league structure of European football, while recent data on transfer spending in the English Premier League shows the existence of an oligopsony on transfer spending. The rise in transfer prices in general is also discussed, and data analytics and linear models is entertained as a mechanism to estimate player value, with the goal being to forge a policy backed by such a mechanism to limit transfer expenditure of financial giants, increase the financial health of clubs, and raise competition in European football.
Recommended Citation
Burns, Steven, "FINANCIAL INEQUALITY IN MODERN EUROPEAN FOOTBALL: IDENTIFYING AND BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN EUROPE’S ELITE AND OTHER CLUBS" (2018). Theses & ETDs. 5489.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/5489