Ethnicity, productivity and salary: player compensation and discrimination in the National Hockey League

Abstract

The paper considers the impact of potential minority (Francophone, American, European) ethnic (language, culture) discrimination on salary determination in the National Hockey League. Using player salary data for the 1989/90 season, a regression model of salary determination is constructed which includes variables measuring productivity (skills), market structure, and allows for several ethnic influences including minority discrimination, ethnically shaped consumer preferences and reservation wages. The basic conclusion is that wages are principally determined by productivity and market structure, and the only evidence of discrimination is found in the ethnically influenced consumer preference of American, as opposed to Canadian, teams.

A Market Test for Ethnic Discrimination in the National Hockey League

“…Hypothesizing that the historical tensions between English Canadians and French Canadians might manifest themselves only in specific regions, Longley (1995) tested for discrimination across the geographical locations in which the home team resides (i.e., English Canada, French Canada, and the United States) to find that, during the 1989-1990 NHL season, French Canadian players were only discriminated against when playing for teams located within the region of English Canada. However, using the same data set as Longley's study, but controlling for additional performance measures, Jones, Colin, Nadeau, and Walsh (1999) did not find any evidence of salary discrimination. Lavoie (2000) used data from the 1993-1994 season to examine whether nonlocal players received lower salaries than comparable local players to find supporting evidence that nonlocal players, particularly in English Canada, were paid less than local players, although he suggested the conclusions are tentative given the heterogeneity of the results across specifications.…”

Quantifying the Contribution of NHL Player Types to Team Performance

“…In hockey, scientifically analyzing individual player performance is a challenging task because the game is so fluid. However, researchers have attempted to classify NHL players into different player types as a way to compare them and to analyze differences in salaries (Vincent and Eastman 2009;Jones et al 1997Jones et al , 1999. In this paper, we build on prior research by developing a novel classification scheme that is well suited to current NHL players.…”

Determinants of Pay in the NHL

“…Most of the recent studies on salary determination in professional hockey have been concerned with the question of discrimination against Canadian Francophone players Jones, Nadeau, & Walsh, 1999;Lavoie, 2000). Other studies on salary determination in professional hockey examine the relationship between violence and salary and employment in the NHL (Jones, Nadeau, & Walsh, 1997) and the impact of team effects on salaries (Idson & Kahane, 2001;Kahane, 2001).…”