Seemingly Irrelevant Events Affect Economic Perceptions and Expectations: The FIFA World Cup 2006 as a Natural Experiment

Dohmen, Thomas J.; Falk, Armin; Huffman, David; Sunde, Uwe (2006): Seemingly Irrelevant Events Affect Economic Perceptions and Expectations: The FIFA World Cup 2006 as a Natural Experiment. IZA Discussion Papers / Forschungsinstitut für Zukunft und Arbeit, Bonn, 2275

Abstract

Seemingly Irrelevant Events Affect Economic Perceptions and Expectations: The FIFA World Cup 2006 as a Natural Experiment Prominent economic theories have emphasized the role of commonly held perceptions and expectations for determining macroeconomic outcomes. A key empirical question is how such collectively held beliefs are formed. We use the FIFA World Cup 2006 as a natural experiment. We provide direct evidence that seemingly irrelevant events (the outcomes of soccer matches) can systematically affect individual perceptions about economic prospects, both on a personal and economy-wide level.

• Item Type: Paper (Discussion Paper)
• Faculties: Economics; Economics > Chairs > Chair for Population Economics
• Subjects: 300 Social sciences > 330 Economics
• Language: English