Social pressure may have relevant consequences in many contexts but it is hard to evaluate
it empirically. In this paper we exploit a natural experiment in soccer to provide clear …

We use a series of historical natural experiments in association football to test whether
social pressure from a home stadium crowd affected behavior and outcomes. The standout …

The COVID-19 pandemic provides a natural experimental framework to comprehensively
test the effect of crowds on both referees and players. We examine this from a North …

We analyze performance under pressure and estimate the causal effect of audience size on
the success of free throws in top-level professional basketball. We use data from the …

In the NBA, predominantly Black players play in front of predominantly non-Black fans. Using
the “NBA Bubble”, a natural experiment induced by COVID-19, we show that the …

In less than a decade, the Egyptian Premier League has experienced three distinct changes
between periods of competition in either crowded or empty stadiums. We exploit this unique …

We exploit the natural experimental setting provided by the Covid-19 lockdown to analyse
how performance is affected by a friendly audience. Specifically, we use data on all football …

Performing in front of a crowd increases motivation. However, it also creates a psychological
pressure, which may hinder performance, especially in precision tasks in decisive situations …

Competitions often suffer from biased judgments by officials tied to their social identities. In
international cricket, home nation umpires favoured home teams, but neutral umpires were …

This paper investigates how crowds affect the timing of events during football matches. In
theory, the presence of fans influences the urgency of the players on the field, and the …