Andrew Zimbalist - Böcker

This book explores whether the Sandinista 'mixed economy'—a 'transitional' mixed economy—could have been stable if the Sandinistas had been able to pursue their industrialization strategy for a longer period of time. It explains why Nicaragua's mixed economy was stable for almost eleven years.

This comprehensive and authoritative book assesses in theoretical and empirical terms some of the most widely debated issues in the study of Cuban political economy over the past two decades. Contributors discuss the Cuban economy's rate of growth, structural changes that have accompanied economic development, the extent of Cuba's economic and political dependence on the Soviet Union, the reliability of Cuban statistics, the performance of Cuba's system of central planning, and the progress Cuba has made in promoting equality for women. Without extolling or condemning the Castro government, these essays provide a timely analysis of the methods, theoretical approaches, and conclusions of the literature in Cuban studies since the 1960s and offer a new understanding of the Cuban reality.

This book explores whether the Sandinista 'mixed economy'—a 'transitional' mixed economy—could have been stable if the Sandinistas had been able to pursue their industrialization strategy for a longer period of time. It explains why Nicaragua's mixed economy was stable for almost eleven years.

This comprehensive and authoritative book assesses in theoretical and empirical terms some of the most widely debated issues in the study of Cuban political economy. It presents a broad critique of the mainstream scholarship in the United States on Cuban political economy.

"A savvy analysis of the game's financial problems" (Los Angeles Times), now updated throughout and featuring a new chapter on recent controversies and upheavals in the game. Selected as one of the best books of the year by Business Week.

In December 1989, the United States invaded Panama, deposed its government, and established another in its place. While this act of violent intervention brought Panama to public attention, the justifications for it obscured the underlying instabilities that have plagued the country throughout its history. Although a stated purpose of the invasion was to remove one man, Manuel Noriega, from power, Panama at the Crossroads demonstrates that the crisis sweeping Panama in the late 1980s was not caused by one man, but in fact derived from the history of U.S. domination and the nature of Panamanian society itself.Panama is located at a crucial geographic crossroads, a fact that has greatly influenced the country's history since the sixteenth century. Labor scarcity and inhospitable terrain, joined with its location, contributed to the mercantile orientation of Panama's economy. Accordingly, the country's politics and economics have been consistently dominated by foreign trading interests, first from Spain, then Colombia and the United States.Now in the 1990s, Panama stands at a historical and economic crossroads, and according to Zimbalist and Weeks its traditional entrepôt institutions are no longer able to promote and sustain growth. Before building the basis for long-term economic expansion, Panama must first undo the devastating economic and political damage engendered by nearly three years of U.S. economic sanctions and the U.S. invasion.In this timely book, Zimbalist and Weeks document the origins and characteristics of this crossroads. Their analysis points the way to a more encompassing and equitable strategy for Panama's economic development.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1991.

In December 1989, the United States invaded Panama, deposed its government, and established another in its place. While this act of violent intervention brought Panama to public attention, the justifications for it obscured the underlying instabilities that have plagued the country throughout its history. Although a stated purpose of the invasion was to remove one man, Manuel Noriega, from power, Panama at the Crossroads demonstrates that the crisis sweeping Panama in the late 1980s was not caused by one man, but in fact derived from the history of U.S. domination and the nature of Panamanian society itself.Panama is located at a crucial geographic crossroads, a fact that has greatly influenced the country's history since the sixteenth century. Labor scarcity and inhospitable terrain, joined with its location, contributed to the mercantile orientation of Panama's economy. Accordingly, the country's politics and economics have been consistently dominated by foreign trading interests, first from Spain, then Colombia and the United States.Now in the 1990s, Panama stands at a historical and economic crossroads, and according to Zimbalist and Weeks its traditional entrepôt institutions are no longer able to promote and sustain growth. Before building the basis for long-term economic expansion, Panama must first undo the devastating economic and political damage engendered by nearly three years of U.S. economic sanctions and the U.S. invasion.In this timely book, Zimbalist and Weeks document the origins and characteristics of this crossroads. Their analysis points the way to a more encompassing and equitable strategy for Panama's economic development.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1991.

In the Best Interests of Baseball? is a thoughtful, balanced look at the impact of the ninth commissioner of baseball, Bud Selig, on the sport as well as an examination of the commissioner's position in a historical context. The more controversial topics Andrew Zimbalist probes include the conflicts of interest arising from Selig's original role as owner/commissioner; Selig's response to the persistent steroids scandal; the commissioner's role in promoting and marketing the sport; player relations and the collective-bargaining agreement; managing explosive conflicts among the owners; the game's economic challenges; major changes made on Selig's watch; and Selig's growing compensation. Underlying this very public evaluation is a far more challenging question: given the legal, economic, and political architecture of Major League Baseball, can any commissioner act in the best interest of the game? Based on dozens of interviews with Selig, former president and chief operating officer of Major League Baseball Bob DuPuy, and scores of baseball insiders and interested outsiders, as well as on mountains of historic baseball documents, In the Best Interests of Baseball? challenges everything you thought you knew about the game, the Major Leagues, the players, the owners, and, most of all, the man at the helm. This edition includes a new preface and epilogue by the author discussing the developments in the baseball industry since 2005 and anticipating what lies ahead for the national pastime.

From the front office to the family room, sabermetrics has dramatically changed the way baseball players are assessed and valued by fans and managers alike. Rocketed to popularity by the 2003 bestseller Moneyball and the film of the same name, the use of sabermetrics to analyze player performance has appeared to be a David to the Goliath of systemically advantaged richer teams that could be toppled only by creative statistical analysis. The story has been so compelling that, over the past decade, team after team has integrated statistical analysis into its front office. But how accurately can crunching numbers quantify a player's ability? Do sabermetrics truly level the playing field for financially disadvantaged teams? How much of the baseball analytic trend is fad and how much fact?The Sabermetric Revolution sets the record straight on the role of analytics in baseball. Former Mets sabermetrician Benjamin Baumer and leading sports economist Andrew Zimbalist correct common misinterpretations and develop new methods to assess the effectiveness of sabermetrics on team performance. Tracing the growth of front office dependence on sabermetrics and the breadth of its use today, they explore how Major League Baseball and the field of sports analytics have changed since the 2002 season. Their conclusion is optimistic, but the authors also caution that sabermetric insights will be more difficult to come by in the future. The Sabermetric Revolution offers more than a fascinating case study of the use of statistics by general managers and front office executives: for fans and fantasy leagues, this book will provide an accessible primer on the real math behind moneyball as well as new insight into the changing business of baseball.

A clear-eyed, critical examination of the social, political, and economic costs of hosting the 2016 summer OlympicsThe selection of Rio de Janeiro as the site of the summer 2016 Olympic Games set off jubilant celebrations in Brazil—and created enormous expectations for economic development and the advancement of Brazil as a major player on the world stage. Although the games were held without major incident, the economic, environmental, political, and social outcomes for Brazil ranged from disappointing to devastating. Corruption scandals trimmed the fat profits that many local real estate developers had envisioned, and the local government was driven into bankruptcy. At the other end of the economic spectrum, some 77,000 residents of Rio's poorest neighborhoods—the favelas—were evicted and forced to move, in many cases as far as 20 or 30 miles to the west. Hosting the games ultimately cost Brazil $20 billion, with little positive to show for the investment.Rio 2016 assembles the views of leading experts on Brazil and the Olympics into a clear-eyed assessment of the impact of the games on Brazil in general and on the lives of Cariocas, as Rio's residents are known. Edited by sports economist Andrew Zimbalist, the other contributors include Juliana Barbassa, Jules Boykoff, Jamil Chade, Stephen Essex, Renata Latuf, and Theresa Williamson.

A critical look at the tension between the larger role of the university and the commercialization of college sportsUnwinding Madness is the most comprehensive examination to date of how the NCAA has lost its way in the governance of intercollegiate athletics—and why it is incapable of achieving reform and must be replaced. The NCAA has placed commercial success above its responsibilities to protect the academic primacy, health and well-being of college athletes and fallen into an educational, ethical, and economic crisis.

Beyond the headlines of the world's most beloved sporting eventsBrazil hosted the 2016 men's World Cup at a cost of $15 billion to $20 billion, building large, new stadiums in cities that have little use for them anymore. The projected cost of Tokyo's 2020 Summer Olympic Games is estimated to be as high as $30 billion, much of it coming from the public trough. In the updated and expanded edition of his bestselling book, Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup, Andrew Zimbalist tackles the claim that cities chosen to host these high-profile sporting events experience an economic windfall. In this new edition he looks at upcoming summer and winter Olympic games, discusses the recent Women's World Cup, and the upcoming men's tournament in Qatar.Circus Maximus focuses on major cities, like London, Rio, and Barcelona, that have previously hosted these sporting events, to provide context for future host cities that will bear the weight of exploding expenses, corruption, and protests. Zimbalist offers a sobering and candid look at the Olympics and the World Cup from outside the echo chamber.

America is in the midst of a sports building boom. Professional sports teams are demanding and receiving fancy new playing facilities that are heavily subsidized by government. In many cases, the rationale given for these subsidies is that attracting or retaining a professional sports franchise—even a minor league baseball team or a major league pre-season training facility--more than pays for itself in increased tax revenues, local economic development, and job creation.But are these claims true? To assess the case for subsidies, this book examines the economic impact of new stadiums and the presence of a sports franchise on the local economy. It first explores such general issues as the appropriate method for measuring economic benefits and costs, the source of the bargaining power of teams in obtaining subsidies from local government, the local politics of attracting and retaining teams, the relationship between sports and local employment, and the importance of stadium design in influencing the economic impact of a facility.The second part of the book contains case studies of major league sports facilities in Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, San Francisco, and the Twin Cities, and of minor league stadiums and spring training facilities in baseball. The primary conclusions are: first, sports teams and facilities are not a source of local economic growth and employment; second, the magnitude of the net subsidy exceeds the financial benefit of a new stadium to a team; and, third, the most plausible reasons that cities are willing to subsidize sports teams are the intense popularity of sports among a substantial proportion of voters and businesses and the leverage that teams enjoy from the monopoly position of professional sports leagues.

This is the story of two great sports. One is ""America's game,"" while the other is ""the world's game."" Baseball and soccer are both beloved cultural institutions. What draws fans to one game is often a mystery to fans of the other. Despite superficial differences, however, the business and culture of these sports share more in common than meets the eye. This is the first in-depth, cross-cultural comparison of these two great pastimes and the megabusinesses that they have become. In N ational Pastime, Stefan Szymanski and Andrew Zimbalist illustrate how the different traditions of each sport have generated different possibilities for their commercial organization and exploitation. They pay special attention to the rich and complex evolution of baseball from its beginnings in America, and they trace modern soccer from its foundation in England through its subsequent expansion across the world. They illustrate how Victorian administrators laid the foundation for Major League Baseball (MLB) and soccer leagues such as the English Premier League, Italy's Serie A, and the European Champions League. The authors show how the organizers of baseball and soccer have learned from each other in the past and how they can continue to do so. Both sports are rich in tradition. In some cases, however, these traditions—often arbitrary rules established by long-defunct administrators—have obstructed the healthy development of the sport. By studying the experiences of other sports, it might be possible to develop new and better ways to operate. For example, soccer might benefit from greater cooperation among teams as in baseball. On the other hand, MLB could learn from soccer's relegation rules and more open system of ownership, thus avoiding some of the excesses (competitive imbalance, uneven team resources) associated with monopoly. Nat ional Pastime does not advocate the jettisoning of all tradition to adopt wholesale the approach of another sport, of course.

The business of baseball stands in sharp contrast to the game’s wholesome image as America’s favorite pastime. Major league baseball is a deeply troubled industry, facing chronic problems that threaten its future: persistent labor tensions, competitive dominance by high-revenue teams, migration of game telecasts to cable, and escalating ticket prices. Amid the threat of contraction, existing franchises are demanding public subsidies for new stadiums, while viable host cities are begging for teams. The game’s core base of fans is aging, and MLB is doing precious little to attract a younger audience. According to Andrew Zimbalist, these problems have a common cause: monopoly. Since 1922 MLB has benefited from a presumed exemption from the nation’s antitrust laws. It is the only top-level professional baseball league in the country, and each of its teams is assigned an exclusive territory. Monopolies have market power, which they use to derive higher returns, misallocate resources, and take advantage of consumers. Major league baseball is no exception. In May the Best Team Win, Zimbalist provides a critical analysis of the baseball industry, focusing on the abuses and inefficiencies that have plagued the game since the 1990s, when franchise owners appointed their colleague Bud Selig as MLB’s “independent” commissioner.

From the Olympics to the World Cup, mega sporting events are a source of enjoyment for tens of thousands of people, but can also be a source of intense debate and controversy. This insightful new Handbook addresses a number of central questions, including: How are host cities selected and under what economic conditions? How are these events organized, and how is local resistance overcome? Based on historical and empirical experience, what are the pitfalls for the organizers of these events? What are the potential economic benefits, including any international image effects? How can the costs be minimized and the benefits maximized for host cities and countries? How do these mega events impact the challenges of globalization and what is their environmental legacy? Compiled and edited by two internationally renowned sports economists, the expert contributions elaborate on the specific mechanisms of the bid processes, analyze the determining factors of winning bids, and illustrate how to construct future bid campaigns. Underpinned by case studies from four continents and by theoretical considerations, the reasons for seemingly systemic cost overruns are explored and analyzed, as are the effects on national and regional employment and income, property values, non-traditional economic variables (such as psychological and marketing benefits) and urban branding and transformation. The Handbook also reflects on important elements of design of the games in order to better plan, prepare and allocate resources - including, for example, sustainability issues and the use of campaigns to secure positive perceptions. This book provides an up-to-date analysis of the financing and economic impact of mega sporting events, as well as a full discussion of how host cities can maximize the benefits from their experience. As such, it will prove a fascinating read for academics, students, researchers and policy makers with an interest in economics and public sector economics generally, and more specifically, in the economics of sport. Contributors: G.M. Ahlfeldt, G. Andranovich, W. Andreff, R.A. Baade, O. Bass, R. Baumann, U. Bob, D. Brown, M.J. Burbank, R. Burton, A. Cartwright, A. Ceballos, D.M. Chin, D. Coates, L.M. de Melo, S. du Plessis, N. Eber, B. Engelhardt, A. Feddersen, R. Flores, D. Forrest, Y. Guo, C.H. Heying, Y. Hou, B.R. Humphreys, G. Kavetsos, S. Kesenne, R.H. Koning, J.G. Long, W. Maennig, B. Majumdar, V.A. Matheson, I.G. McHale, N. Mehta, N. O'Reilly, M. Olschlager, P.K. Porter, A.R. Sanderson, I. Sanz, J. Schokkaert, B. Seguin, S. Shmanske, E. Sterken, B. Sussmuth, K. Swart, J.F.M. Swinnen, S. Szymanski, J.D. Tena, R. Tomlinson, H. van Egteren, T. Vandemoortele, C. Zhou, A. Zimbalist

A look at the future of the business of sports in America

A look at the future of the business of sports in America

Equal Play; Title IX and Social Change collects the best, up-to-date scholarship, court cases, and other useful materials showing how the governmental processes have influenced the implementation of one of the country's most important social goals: equality in athletics.

Feisty essays from the nation's top sports economist

From the Olympics to the World Cup, mega sporting events are a source of enjoyment for tens of thousands of people, but can also be a source of intense debate and controversy. This insightful new Handbook addresses a number of central questions, including: How are host cities selected and under what economic conditions? How are these events organized, and how is local resistance overcome? Based on historical and empirical experience, what are the pitfalls for the organizers of these events? What are the potential economic benefits, including any international image effects? How can the costs be minimized and the benefits maximized for host cities and countries? How do these mega events impact the challenges of globalization and what is their environmental legacy? Compiled and edited by two internationally renowned sports economists, the expert contributions elaborate on the specific mechanisms of the bid processes, analyze the determining factors of winning bids, and illustrate how to construct future bid campaigns. Underpinned by case studies from four continents and by theoretical considerations, the reasons for seemingly systemic cost overruns are explored and analyzed, as are the effects on national and regional employment and income, property values, non-traditional economic variables (such as psychological and marketing benefits) and urban branding and transformation. The Handbook also reflects on important elements of design of the games in order to better plan, prepare and allocate resources - including, for example, sustainability issues and the use of campaigns to secure positive perceptions. This book provides an up-to-date analysis of the financing and economic impact of mega sporting events, as well as a full discussion of how host cities can maximize the benefits from their experience. As such, it will prove a fascinating read for academics, students, researchers and policy makers with an interest in economics and public sector economics generally, and more specifically, in the economics of sport. Contributors: G.M. Ahlfeldt, G. Andranovich, W. Andreff, R.A. Baade, O. Bass, R. Baumann, U. Bob, D. Brown, M.J. Burbank, R. Burton, A. Cartwright, A. Ceballos, D.M. Chin, D. Coates, L.M. de Melo, S. du Plessis, N. Eber, B. Engelhardt, A. Feddersen, R. Flores, D. Forrest, Y. Guo, C.H. Heying, Y. Hou, B.R. Humphreys, G. Kavetsos, S. Kesenne, R.H. Koning, J.G. Long, W. Maennig, B. Majumdar, V.A. Matheson, I.G. McHale, N. Mehta, N. O'Reilly, M. Olschlager, P.K. Porter, A.R. Sanderson, I. Sanz, J. Schokkaert, B. Seguin, S. Shmanske, E. Sterken, B. Sussmuth, K. Swart, J.F.M. Swinnen, S. Szymanski, J.D. Tena, R. Tomlinson, H. van Egteren, T. Vandemoortele, C. Zhou, A. Zimbalist

The economics of sport exploded onto the academic teaching and research scene in the 1990s. This decade of intellectual effervescence is encapsulated in this state-of-the-art collection which reprints both classic work and more recent papers which may achieve classic status in the future. Andrew Zimbalist - widely recognised to be the leading authority in the field - has prepared a selection of articles which mark an important milestone in the development of sports economics. It will be an essential source of reference to a rapidly growing and widely dispersed literature.

Intercollegiate athletics is under assault from all sides. Its economic model is yielding increasing and unsustainable deficits and widening inequality. Coaches and athletic directors are the highest paid employees at FBS universities (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision) by factors of five to ten, or more. Athletes are being cheated on their promised education, do not receive adequate medical care, and are not allowed to receive cash income. Substantial change, either toward reasserting the intended primacy of education for intercollegiate athletes or a further surrender to commercialism, is coming. This book lays out the starkly different paths that college sports reform can follow and what the ramifications will be on the athletes and on the institutions in which they are enrolled.