LSS seminar

Archive of Seminars

Reporting Seminar 184. The impact of competition on performance: an example of Russian long-distance races.
Date and Time: 19 December, 19:40-21:00
Speaker: Igor Tylkin
Abstract: Competition can both stimulate economic agents to increase their productivity and demotivate them by reducing the likelihood of success. The purpose of this project is to determine whether the result of professional athletes in long-distance races depends on the presence of strong rivals. To implement the project, a data set with the results of the largest Russian marathons and half marathons for 2015-2022 is used.

Seminar 183. Should the strongest serve first? Strategic ordering of servers in doubles tennis
Date and Time: 12 December, 19:40-21:00
Speaker: Nikolai Avkhimovich
Abstract: Do athletes adapt to changing conditions within the match, and how? Can their strategic choice of server lead to a better outcome in a match? Leveraging point-by-point data on Grand Slam tennis doubles, we show that better historical serving performance in singles matches leads to a higher probability of being assigned as the “first server of the match” in doubles. We also show adaptive athletes’ behavior during doubles matches: poorer serving performance in the previous set leads to a higher probability of being replaced as a “first server” in the following set by the teammate. Both of those strategic choices lead to performance improvement: up to 5% more points can be won if the strongest athlete serves first.

Seminar 182. Optimal distribution of prizes in single- and double elimination tournaments.
Date and Time: 5 December, 19:40-21:00
Speaker: Daria Tabashnikova
Abstract: The paper considers single- and double-elimination tournaments with heterogeneous players. The heterogeneity of the players lies in the different costs of applying efforts. In the work, conditions for the distribution of prizes are obtained, under which there are no situations of unsportsmanlike behavior and under which the efforts of the players are maximum.

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