Brad R. Humphreys
Chair in the Economics of Gaming
University of Alberta
Department of Economics
8-14 HM Tory Building
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada T6G 2H4

Phone: (780) 492-5143
Fax: (780) 492-3300

Brad Humphreys is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Alberta where he holds the Chair in the Economics of Gaming. He is also a researcher at the Alberta Gaming Research Institute. Before joining the faculty at the University of Alberta, he was an Associate Professor in the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Professor Humphreys also spent ten years on the faculty at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in the Department of Economics.

Professor Humphreys received his Ph.D. in economics in 1995 from the Johns Hopkins University Department of Economics. Professor Humphreys' areas of research interest include the economics of sports, sport finance, and the economics of higher education. He is co-editor of Contemporary Economic Policy and an associate editor of the International Journal of Sport Finance. He also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Sports Economics. His book, The Business of Sports was published in June 2008 by Praeger Publishers. He has testified twice before the United States Congress on the financing and economic impact of professional sports facilities. The most recent hearing was a 18 September 2008 Congressional hearing on stadium finance information before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

His research interests in sports economics include the economic impact of professional sports teams and facilities, the effect of social regulations like Title IX on intercollegiate athletics, the economic determinants of participation in physical activity, and competitive balance in sports leagues. A recent report on the economic impact of professional sports teams, "Caught Stealing: Debunking the Economic Case for D.C. Baseball" was published by the Cato Institute (Cato Briefing Paper #89).

He blogs regularly on topics related to sports economics and sport finance at The Sports Economist and the International Journal of Sport Finance Blog.

Curriculum vitae (pdf - updated December 2009)
Research profile on RePEc.

Selected Recent Publications

• "Accounting for Output Fluctuations in Manufacturing," Applied Economics, in press.
• "Determinants of Franchise Values in North American Professional Sports Leagues: Evidence from a Hedonic Price Model," International Journal of Sport Finance May 2008.
• ""Monitoring Cartel Behavior and Stability: Evidence From NCAA Football," Southern Economic Journal, vol. 79, no. 3 (January 2009) pp. 720-735.
• "Participation in Physical Activity and Government Spending on Parks and Recreation," Contemporary Economic Policy, vol. 25, no. 4. (October 2007), pp. 538-552.
• "More Evidence on Intercollegiate Athletic Success and Donations," Journal of Sport Management, vol. 21, no. 2 (April 2007), pp. 265-280.
• "Sport Participation and Migration," International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, vol 2, no. 5-6 (2007), pp. 496-509..
• "Financing Intercollegiate Athletics: The Role of Monitoring and Enforcing NCAA Recruiting Regulations," International Journal of Sport Finance, vol. 1, no. 2 (May 2006), pp. 119-128.
• "The Relationship Between Big-Time College Football and State Appropriations to Higher Education," International Journal of Sport Finance, vol. 1, no. 3, (August 2006), pp. 151-161.
• "Proximity Benefits and Voting on Stadium and Arena Subsidies," Journal of Urban Economics, Journal of Urban Economics, vol. 59, no. 2 (March 2006), pp. 285-299..
• "Novelty Effects of New Facilities on Attendance at Professional Sporting Events," Contemporary Economic Policy, vol. 23, no. 3 (July 2005), pp. 436-455.
• "The Effects of Professional Sports on Earnings and Employment in the Retail and Services Sectors of U.S. Cities," Regional Science and Urban Economics, vol. 33, no. 2 (March 2003), pp. 175-198.
• "Professional Sports Facilities, Franchises, and Urban Economic Development," Public Finance and Management, vol. 3, no. 3 (2003), pp. 335-357.
• "The Economic Impact of Postseason Play in Professional Sports," Journal of Sports Economics, vol. 3, no. 3 (August 2002), pp. 291-299.
• "Alternative Measures of Competitive Balance in Sports Leagues," Journal of Sports Economics, vol. 3, no. 2 (May 2002), pp. 133-148.
• "The Economic Consequences of Professional Sports Strikes and Lockouts," Southern Economic Journal, vol. 67, no. 3 (2001), pp. 737-747.
• "Nonprofit Decisionmaking and Social Regulation: The Intended and Unintended Consequences of Title IX," Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Vol. 43 (November 2000), pp. 359-376.
• "The Stadium Gambit and Local Economic Development," Regulation, Vol. 23, no. 2 (June 2000), pp. 15-20.
• "The Growth Effects of Sports Franchises Stadia and Arenas," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Vol. 14, no. 4 (Fall 1999), pp. 601-624.

Recent Working Papers

• "PILOTs and Public Policy: Steering through the Economic Ramifications with Victor Matheson, College of the Holy Cross
• "Customer Discrimination, Capital Investment, and Sports Stadiums," with Orn Bodvarsson, St. Cloud State University, November 2005 version
• "The Role of Sports Economics in the Sport Management Curriculum," June 2005
• Older working papers are available on-line at the UMBC Economics Department working paper archive.