Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/214572 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
CREMA Working Paper No. 2015-07
Publisher: 
Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA), Zürich
Abstract: 
This study uses the case of professional soccer to investigate the determinants of human capital (HC) specificity. Inspired by labor market research, we formulate three hypotheses on how uncertainty about the usefulness of individuals' (more productive) specific skills affects their investment in (more flexible) general skills. The empirical analysis is based on unique panel data on school grades, soccer evaluations, and the sociodemographic characteristics of 90 elite players from the youth academy of a German Bundesliga club. We find that senior and long-serving players, who are comparably certain that their (soccer) specific capital will be sufficient to ensure a lucrative professional contract, invest less in general HC at school. Expected soccer performance, in contrast, has a counterintuitive positive effect. Our results expand knowledge on the factors influencing HC specificity from the macro to the subject level and highlight practical implications for institutions that train gifted individuals.
Subjects: 
Individual uncertainty
human capital
skill specificity
professional soccer
youth academy
JEL: 
J24
I20
D81
D84
L83
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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