Limitations of the Relative Standard Deviation of Win Percentages for Measuring Competitive Balance in Sports Leagues

University of Otago Economics Discussion Papers No. 0908

13 Pages Posted: 11 Aug 2009 Last revised: 21 Jul 2010

See all articles by P. Dorian Owen

P. Dorian Owen

University of Otago - School of Business - Department of Economics

Date Written: March 2010

Abstract

The relative standard deviation of win percentages, the most widely used measure of within-season competitive balance, has an upper bound which is very sensitive to variation in the numbers of teams and games played. Taking into account this upper bound provides additional insight into comparisons of competitive balance across leagues or over time.

Keywords: competitive balance, relative standard deviation, idealized standard deviation, economics of sport

JEL Classification: D63, L83

Suggested Citation

Owen, P. Dorian, Limitations of the Relative Standard Deviation of Win Percentages for Measuring Competitive Balance in Sports Leagues (March 2010). University of Otago Economics Discussion Papers No. 0908, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1446569 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1446569

P. Dorian Owen (Contact Author)

University of Otago - School of Business - Department of Economics ( email )

PO Box 56
Dunedin
New Zealand

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