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The Palgrave Handbook on the Economics of Manipulation in Sport pp 71–90Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Doping in High-Performance Sport—The Economic Perspective

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Abstract

Doping is a ubiquitous phenomenon in every type of sport. However, some cases appear particularly spectacular. In this article, we show that the elite sports framework provides strong incentives to use doping substances. These incentives are greatest for sports with precisely measurable results and they are weakest in the case of team sports. Although it is hard to justify a legal ban of doping methods, it makes sense for the organizer to hinder athletes who are using doping methods to take part in the contest. To fight against doping, a wide range of measures is available. A penalty-carrying ban based on the negative list comes closest to the objective; however, it also offers strong incentives to evade the negative list, in other words in favour of doping innovation. One way out of this dilemma is presented by the accompanying innovation bonus, which rewards the registration of doping innovations. The possibility of liberalizing doping for adult athletes should also not be totally ruled out: liberalization would presumably lead to across-the-board doping in elite sport, but not necessarily to higher health risks for athletes, since it would also permit better supervision and supply.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For a detailed discussion of the definition of the phenomenon of doping cf. Daumann (2013, 3 ff.). On the problems of operationalizing this definition cf. e.g. Hoberman (1992), Bird and Wagner (1997), Maennig (2002), Daumann (2003a), Bette and Schimank (2006).

  2. 2.

    On the economic behavioural model cf., for example, Becker (1976) and Brunner and Meckling (1977) as representative for many.

  3. 3.

    This refers to the “superstar effect” (Rosen 1983), according to which even a marginal improvement in an athlete’s performance can cause a significant material earnings increase due to strong ranking effects.

  4. 4.

    Ryvkin (2013) gives an overview of more extended models to explain the occurrence of doping and delivers an own model.

  5. 5.

    On the discussion about the justification of (government) anti-doping measures cf. Daumann (2003a, 2010, 2013). For the incentives and the role of the enforcing agency, see e.g. Kirstein (2014).

  6. 6.

    According to Solberg et al. (2010), fans show little tolerance for athletes using doping methods.

  7. 7.

    An extensive discussion of the other measures can be found in Maennig (2002, 77 ff.), Daumann (2013, 77 ff.), Eber (2012), and Daumann et al. (2015). See also Goetsch and Salzmann (2017).

  8. 8.

    Nevertheless, staggered monetary penalties in line with performance capabilities would also be conceivable: In Berentsen’s (2002) proposal, correspondingly higher sanctions would be imposed on higher ranking athletes, or tests should be carried out in such a way that the probability of detection is higher for these rankings.

  9. 9.

    Di Masi (2014) estimates the research and development costs for the development of a new authorized drug at an average US-$2600 million; these vary significantly, however, depending on the area of indication (Adams and Brantner 2006).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Sportwissenschaft, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Jena, Germany

    Frank Daumann

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  1. Frank Daumann
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Correspondence to Frank Daumann .

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  1. School of Business, SRH University Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

    Markus Breuer

  2. Centre for Sports Business, Management School, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

    David Forrest

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Daumann, F. (2018). Doping in High-Performance Sport—The Economic Perspective. In: Breuer, M., Forrest, D. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook on the Economics of Manipulation in Sport. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77389-6_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77389-6_5

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