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Because of the Observer Effect, athletes’ performance could change when fans affect their human capital.
Econlife Blog
https://econlife.com/2021/02/the-observer-effect-in-sports/
Fact Questions:
- Using numbers, explain how Covid-19 affected the number of fans that could watch the Australian Open in the stadium.
- What is the Observer Effect?
- Why did the Hawthorne study produce no conclusive results?
- Why do the results of the Hawthorne study relate to the impact of fans on a sporting event?
- How do fans (probably) impact players? Coaches? Referees?
Econlife Blog
https://econlife.com/2021/02/the-observer-effect-in-sports/
Fact Questions
- Using numbers, explain how Covid-19 affected the number of fans that could watch the Australian Open in the stadium.
- What is the Observer Effect?
- Why did the Hawthorne study produce no conclusive results?
- Why do the results of the Hawthorne study relate to the impact of fans on a sporting event?
- How do fans (probably) impact players? Coaches? Referees?
The Economic Idea: Land, Labor and Capital
When economists look at how we produce goods and services, they say we use three basic ingredients. We use land, labor, and capital. The land represents whatever naturally exists such as the land on which we build a factory or a store. Next, the labor is the people we need to accomplish a task. And finally, the capital is the tools, equipment, and knowledge that let us make goods and services.
To create a sporting event, we use land, labor, and capital. We have the land on which a playing field and a stadium are located. The labor includes the people who construct the field and the stadium, and also the athletes, coaches, and referees. As for the capital, there are two kinds. Physical capital ranges from the equipment the athletes use to the stadium and the locker rooms. Similarly, the human capital that is composed of our knowledge can also accumulate to improve our performance.
Activity Goal: To become familiar with recipes made from land and labor and physical and human capital.
Procedure:
- On a strip of paper, each person should list 2 goods and 2 services.
- By passing the paper to someone else or online sharing, each list should be given to another individual.
- The recipient should name specific examples of the land, labor, and two kinds of capital that compose the “recipe” for creating that item.
- Pass the list of land, labor and capital to another individual. Do not identify the good or service that it was used to create. That person should guess the name of the good or service that would be created.
- As a group, share the land, labor, and capital recipes and the goods and services they compose.
- Using your examples, decide how, like the possible impact of fans on athletes, human capital can be increased.
