Limitations of the relative standard deviation of win percentages for measuring competitive balance in sports leagues

Owen, P. Dorian

Limitations of the relative standard deviation of win percentages for measuring competitive balance in sports leagues

Owen, P. Dorian

Cite this item: Owen, P. D. (2010). Limitations of the relative standard deviation of win percentages for measuring competitive balance in sports leagues (Economics Discussion Papers Series No. 908). Department of Economics, University of Otago. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10523/1127

Permanent link to OUR Archive version: http://hdl.handle.net/10523/1127

Date: 2010-03-01

Publisher: Department of Economics, University of Otago

Pages: 13

Series: Economics Discussion Papers Series

Series number: 908

Keywords: Competitive balance; Relative standard deviation; Idealized standard deviation

Research Type: Discussion Paper

Abstract:

The relative standard deviation of win percentages, the most widely used measure of within-season competitive balance, has an upper bound which is very sensitive to variation in the numbers of teams and games played. Taking into account this upper bound provides additional insight into comparisons of competitive balance across leagues or over time.

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