CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO
Department of Economics
Prof. Gutowsky Economics 180
Class Assignment # 1
Provide the instructor with a socio-economic profile of either Sacramento County or the Sacramento PSMA. The first page of the class website lists a number of websites that may be helpful to you.
Class Assignment # 2
Read Chapter 2 of Roger Noll’s book, SPORTS, JOBS AND TAXES, however, you may find pages 1-30 of chapter 1 of helpful.
or
Read the article by John Siegfried and Andrew Zimbalist "The Economics of Sports Facilities and Their Communities," THE JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE, Summer 2000, pages 95-113.
Writing Assignment (Minimum Page Length -- four pages single spaced)
After reading chapter two write a paper that lays out the conceptual benefit-cost framework that planners or public officials might use to both understand and evaluate the economic impact of a proposed baseball stadium in West Sacramento on the Sacramento PSMA. This paper does not require you to quantify the benefits and costs. All you have to do is present both a comprehensive list of the benefits and costs of such a public investment and the rationale underlying each benefit and cost category.
Your paper should provide the reader with a how to do it guide to evaluating the macro and micro effects of a public investment in a sports facility. Remember that the paper is not a public relations document to accept or reject the investment, but a paper providing a conceptual framework that will provide a perspective on how one would go about evaluating the impact of such a facility on the local community.
Whenever possible, your paper should discuss, in some detail, the technical issues associated with such an investment. For example, your paper should examine the deadweight loss of a tax financed investment, the external benefits associated with such a project, and the incidence of benefits and costs to name a few.
Updated 8/25/00