Jonas Froch

Jonas Froch

PhD Student in Economics

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portfolio

publications

The Relocation Effect of a Major League Franchise on Residential Property Values

Published in , 2024

We exploit the relocation of the NFL’s Rams franchise as a natural experiment to estimate the effect of residential proximity to sports amenities using difference-in-differences hedonics. For a sample of single-family homes transacted in St. Louis between 2012 and 2019, we reveal that the relocation has provoked a significant relative price depreciation of 7.52% in housing values within a three-mile impact area. Subsequent distance ring analyses show that the effect is dispersed heterogeneously across space and declines in a non-linear distance-decaying pattern from the former host stadium. An approximation of the aggregate relative housing value depreciation suggests that the Rams generated substantial intangible amenity value in St. Louis. However, this magnitude effect may only justify partial subsidies for sports facilities and cannot provide a broader economic rationale for the generous public subsidization seen over the past decades. These results withstand a wide range of robustness checks, although they are somewhat mitigated considering general equilibrium effects

Recommended citation: Froch, Jonas. (2024); "The Relocation Effect of a Major League Franchise on Residential Property Values"; Working Paper; University of Cologne
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Contingent Employment and Effort: Lessons from Soccer

Published in , 2025

Temporary workers, often employed in contingent labor arrangements, frequently experience significantly fewer benefits compared to their permanently employed counterparts. Due to the inherent precariousness of their employment status, temporary workers may have incentives to enhance their performance in an effort to secure permanent positions. Similarly, loan arrangements in professional football represent a distinct form of “on-the-job training,” where players have opportunities to recommend themselves to new clubs, gain increased playing time, develop physically, tactically, and technically, and improve their prospects for securing a new contract or a more favorable position upon returning to their parent club. We substantiate these hypotheses using a theoretical model that predicts relatively higher performance incentives for loaned players. To test the predictions of our model, we analyze a range of performance metrics from seven Bundesliga seasons. Our findings provide initial evidence that loan players exhibit significant improvements in prominent performance metrics, such as shots on target, while showing relatively lower output in less visible actions, such as passes and touches. These results suggest that loaned players may prioritize more conspicuous actions to demonstrate their abilities and recommend themselves for future opportunities

talks

Die Fußball-EM wird die deutsche Wirtschaft nicht aus der Stagnation holen

Published:

I had the pleasure to be interviewed by Adam Magyar from Euronews. I discussed that while the direct, i.e. tangible economic impact of major sporting events, that is the impact in income and employment is vastly neglectable owing to substitution and crowding-out effects, the indirect, i.e. intangible effects could be substantially large as the experience of the “Sommermärchen”, the FIFA World Cup in 2006 in Germany has taught us. In particular increases in civic price and social cohesion and implictly enhance living quality may be observed during major sporting events.

161 Reading Online Sports Economics Seminar (ROSES)

Published:

I had the pleasure to present my working paper at ROSES. I emebed the discussion on the intangible impact of a major league franchise in the local context of the departure of the Rams from St. Louis, delve into the relocation history, and unravel the local idiosyncratic factors underlying the role sports in general, and the Rams in particular play or played for the city of St. Louis. I embed the case study in a broader discussion on the public subsidization of stadium projects. While I find that the Rams generated substantial implicit amenety value in St. Louis, the magnitude effect is still not large enough to derive a compelling argument going beyond partial subsidies.

Is an Olympics in Budapest a reality?

Published:

It was a pleasure to share my thoughts on Hungary potentially hosting the Olympics in 2036, a topic recently covered by Euronews 📰. I explained that the costs typically far exceed the benefits 💸. Common arguments about the short- and long-term advantages—such as job creation 👷‍♂️ or increased tourism ✈️—can be easily refuted and thus fail to provide a direct economic rationale 📊. While there may be some intangible value, such as boosting the host country’s image 🌍, it’s questionable whether this alone can justify such immense expenses 🏛️. More likely, other factors, such as political considerations, drove the interest in hosting major sporting events in recent years.

Top sports business: the 59th Super Bowl is coming

Published:

I recently provided expert insights on the economic impact of the NFL Germany games. According to a study by The Sports Consultancy 📊, the inaugural game in Munich generated an estimated economic impact of €70.2 million, including €32.2 million in direct spending 💰. Similarly, the Frankfurt games contributed around €110 million, with an additional €8 million in projected sales tax revenue 💸. These figures suggest a notable boost to local economies, especially in cities like Frankfurt, which are less established as major tourist destinations 🌍.

teaching

Empirical Replications in Sports Economics

Undergraduate course, University of Cologne, 2024

I currently teach the course Empirical Replication in Sports Economics to undergraduate Economics students at the WiSo Faculty, University of Cologne. This course introduces students to sports economics, familiarizes them with empirical research design, and provides them with the skills needed to replicate a selected study from the field.