We analyze habit formation in sports attendance utilizing rainfall as an unexpected, transitory shock to attendance costs. Using attendance data from Major League Baseball (MLB) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather data, we analyze the impact of variation in game day weather conditions on current and future MLB attendance. The empirical strategy permits identification of both the formation and persistence of habit from exogenous weather shocks. Past adverse weather shocks increase future attendance by about 200 fans per game. This contributes to the literature developing empirical evidence of habit formation in the field and provides policy implications for optimal ticket-pricing strategies.
AghaN.RhoadsT. (2018). Reputation and the league standing effect: The case of a split season in Minor League Baseball. Applied Economics, 50, 4447–4455.
2.
AhnS.LeeY. H. (2007). Life-cycle demand for Major League Baseball. International Journal of Sport Finance, 2, 79–93.
3.
AllcottH.RogersT. (2014). The short-run and long-run effects of behavioral interventions: Experimental evidence from energy conservation. American Economic Review, 104, 3003–3037.
4.
AtkinD. (2013). Trade, tastes, and nutrition in India. American Economic Review, 103, 1629–1663.
5.
BeckerG. S.MurphyK. M. (1988). A theory of rational addiction. Journal of Political Economy, 96, 675–700.
6.
BorlandJ.MacdonaldR. (2003). Demand for sport. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 19, 478–502.
7.
BronnenbergB. J.DubéJ.-P. H.GentzkowM. (2012). The evolution of brand preferences: Evidence from consumer migration. American Economic Review, 102, 2472–2508.
8.
CoatesD.HumphreysB. R.ZhouL. (2014). Reference-dependent preferences, loss aversion, and live game attendance. Economic Inquiry, 52, 959–973.
9.
DawsonA.DownwardP. (2000). Measuring habit persistence effects in attendance at professional team sports encounters: A cautionary note. Economic Issues Journal Articles, 5, 37–40.
10.
DuhiggC. (2012). The power of habit: Why we do what we do in life and business. New York, NY: Random House.
11.
FudenbergD.LevineD. K. (2006). A dual-self model of impulse control. American Economic Review, 96, 1449–1476.
12.
FujiwaraT.MengK.VoglT. (2016). Habit formation in voting: Evidence from rainy elections. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 8, 160.
13.
GarcíaJ.RodríguezP. (2009). Sports attendance: A survey of the literature 1973-2007. Rivista di Diritto e di Economia dello Sport, 5, 112–151.
14.
GeQ.HoB. (2019). Energy use and temperature habituation: Evidence from high frequency thermostat usage data. Economic Inquiry, 57, 1196–1214.
15.
HumphreysB.RuseskiJ.ZhouL. (2015). Physical activity, present bias, and habit formation: Theory and evidence from longitudinal data (Working Paper No. 2015-6). Edmonton, Canada: University of Alberta, Department of Economics.
16.
HussamR.RigolN.ReggianiG.RabbaniA. (2016). Habit formation and rational addiction: A field experiment in handwashing (Working Paper). New Haven, CT: Yale University.
17.
KalistD. E. (2010). Terror alert levels and Major League Baseball attendance. International Journal of Sport Finance, 5, 181.
18.
KrautmannA. C.BerriD. J. (2007). Can we find it at the concessions? Understanding price elasticity in professional sports. Journal of Sports Economics, 8, 183–191.
19.
LeeY. H. (2006). The decline of attendance in the Korean Baseball League: The Major League effects. Journal of Sports Economics, 7, 187–200.
20.
LeeY. H.SmithT. G. (2008). Why are Americans addicted to baseball? An empirical analysis of fandom in Korea and the United States. Contemporary Economic Policy, 26, 32–48.
21.
MartinsA. M.CróS. (2018). The demand for football in Portugal: New insights on outcome uncertainty. Journal of Sports Economics, 19, 473–497.
22.
MeehanJ. W.JrNelsonR. A.RichardsonT. V. (2007). Competitive balance and game attendance in Major League Baseball. Journal of Sports Economics, 8, 563–580.
23.
MeerJ. (2013). The habit of giving. Economic Inquiry, 51, 2002–2017.
24.
MiguelE.SatyanathS.SergentiE. (2004). Economic shocks and civil conflict: An instrumental variables approach. Journal of Political Economy, 112, 725–753.
25.
NelsonL. D.MeyvisT. (2008). Interrupted consumption: Disrupting adaptation to hedonic experiences. Journal of Marketing Research, 45, 654–664.
26.
PawlowskiT.AndersC. (2012). Stadium attendance in German professional football—The (un) importance of uncertainty of outcome reconsidered. Applied Economics Letters, 19, 1553–1556.
27.
RoyerH.StehrM.SydnorJ. (2015). Incentives, commitments, and habit formation in exercise: Evidence from a field experiment with workers at a Fortune-500 company. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 7, 51–84.
28.
ScottK. R. (2012). Rational habits in gasoline demand. Energy Economics, 34, 1713–1723.
29.
WonD. C.LeeY. H. (2008). Optimal dynamic pricing for sports games with habitual attendance. Managerial and Decision Economics, 29, 639–655.
30.
XuJ. J.FaderP.VeeraraghavanS. K. (2016). The revenue impact of dynamic pricing policies in Major League Baseball ticket sales (Working Paper, SSRN). Retrieved fromhttps://ssrn.com/abstract=2796407
