New chair in Irish economic policy at NUI Galway

And while we are celebrating a success for an NUIG man (Micheal D.) I am delighted to see that NUI Galway has just advertised a Personal Professorship in Irish Economic Policy. See here for the job spec “The new Professor will play a central role in developing a Centre for the Study of Irish Economic Policy, which will focus on the development of Irish macroeconomic and financial policy in the context of the broader European Union economy.” I mention it here to help ensure as wide a range of applicants for the post. Economic policy in Ireland faces major challenges in the years ahead so it vital to get some fresh ideas and new blood. I look forward to reading the peer reviewed publications of the holder of this important position, whoever he (or she) is.

Tiger, Tiger burning bright?

Even if, like me, you are not that interested in golf you may be aware of Tiger Woods' stuttering return to form after his recent break from the game. Rory McIlroy caused something of a stir because of remarks to the effect that players aren't so intimidated by the once all conquering player. A catty remark? Well, it turns out that there is econometric evidence to support this. It would be interesting to know whether this result generalizes to other domains. For example, in academia, does the presense of a "superstar" cause people to raise or lower their game?

Quitters Never Win: The (Adverse) Incentive Effects of Competing with Superstars
Jennifer Brown
Managers use internal competition to motivate worker effort, yet economic theory suggests that the benefits of competition may depend critically on workers relative abilities- large differences in skill may reduce competitors efforts. This paper uses panel data from professional golfers and finds that the presence of a superstar in a rank-order tournament is associated with lower competitor performance. On average, higher- skill PGA golfers first-round scores are approximately 0.2 strokes higher when Tiger Woods participates, relative to when Woods is absent. The overall superstar effect for tournaments is approximately 0.8 strokes.
The adverse superstar effect increases when Woods is playing well and disappears during Woods' weaker periods. There is no evidence that reduced performance is due to "riskier" play.