TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Grund, Christian
AU  - Hirsch, Michael
        TI  - Dirty Air, Dirty Play: The Effect of Air Pollution on Sabotage in Tournaments
        PY  - 2026/Apr/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 18512
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp18512
        AB  - In this study, we examine the influence of air pollution, measured by particulate matter concentration (PM_10 and PM_2.5), on sabotage in rank order tournaments. To achieve this, we use player-level data from German Soccer Bundesliga players between 2009 and 2024, which we link with hourly pollution values on the exact match location and kick-off time. This research design addresses key identification problems in estimating the effect of air pollution on non-health outcomes. Our results suggest that an increase in particulate matter concentration has a statistically significant effect on destructive efforts (i.e. competitive sabotage), measured in fouls committed by a player. If particulate matter pollution measured in PM_10 (PM_2.5) increases by 10 μg/m^3, the number of fouls committed increases by 0.6% (0.9%). We also find strong evidence that this effect is driven primarily by players from weaker teams (underdogs).
        KW  - tournaments
KW  - sabotage
KW  - air pollution
        ER  -