Impact of Overwhelming Joy on Consumer Demand: The Case of a Soccer World-Cup Victory

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Abstract
In this paper, we identify the period following a Soccer World Cup victory as a period of overwhelming joy for the winning country and we test the impact of a World Cup victory on the demand for Soccer in this country. Our empirical study is based on all matches of the French Soccer First League during the four seasons surrounding the 1998 World Cup. After controlling for the main determinants of attendance, we find that consumer demand has positively, significantly, and durably shifted following the 1998 World Cup. We also show that the rise in demand is stronger in the nine cities that hosted the World Cup and that the World Cup effect persists for percentage attendance after we control for season-ticket holders. Finally, we find supportive evidence to our claim that exceptional performance improves sport popularity when analyzing Soccer attendance in several control countries, attendance for a potential substitute for Soccer in France, and other episodes of overwhelming joy.

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