Faculty

Grant Center for Real Estate and Economics

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A key component of our mission is to provide an industry-focused, collaborative environment where students, faculty members and the real estate industry can gain and share knowledge, information and international real estate business experiences. The center conducts and publishes research on real estate and economic trends, coordinates a faculty research group in the department of finance and economics, welcomes select visiting scholars, and hosts a variety of related events throughout the academic year.

Working Paper

Determinants of Division I NCAA Soccer Participation

The Grant Center’s new research group, an interdisciplinary effort of faculty in the Wall College, has produced its first working paper, currently under review at the New York Economic Review. Economics students in their senior seminar class pulled data from college rosters, providing data on 60,000 NCAA athletes in 2018. Our students are learning analytics, while our faculty are expanding their research output. Here is what this study examines: The United States has a large population and high levels of household income, but has failed to produce a top-level World Cup Soccer team. Why? Many have suggested reasons. Our analysis applies the theory of incentives from microeconomics. After adjusting for population, income, population density, and demographic factors, we find that states that produced members of the 1930 US World Cup team (our highest ranked World Cup Soccer team ever) still significantly out-produce top level college soccer athletes. This finding suggests there may be some cultural persistence in sports participation, and longstanding local traditional preferences for football, baseball, and basketball may be an obstacle to producing a top-level World Cup Soccer team in the United States.