SFA Economics Reading Group to host discussion with ‘An Economist Goes to the Game’ author

NACOGDOCHES, Texas — The student-led Economics Reading Group in Stephen F. Austin State University’s Rusche College of Business is hosting a speaker event with Paul Oyer, author of “An Economist Goes to the Game: How to Throw Away $580 Million and Other Surprising Insights From the Economics of Sports,” at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 21 in the McGee Business Building, Room 133. Oyer will be joining the event via Zoom.

The Mary and Rankine Van Anda Entrepreneurial Professor, a professor of economics, and the senior associate dean for academic affairs at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Oyer also authored “Everything I Ever Needed to Know About Economics I Learned From Online Dating.” His current projects include studies of the gig economy and how people's backgrounds determine the decision to become an entrepreneur and the success of ventures that they start.

“Paul is a nationally known economist who is highly sought after for speaking events,” said Dr. Ryan Phelps, associate professor of economics and finance at SFA as well as faculty advisor for the Economics Reading Group. “He was recently featured discussing his work on Bloomberg, and now our local community will get a chance to interact with him.” 

“An Economist Goes to the Game” explores the following questions and more: Are ticket scalpers good for teams? Should parents push their kids to excel at sports? Why would Michael Jordan, the greatest player in basketball, pass to Steve Kerr for the game-winning shot?

In-person attendance of this virtual speaker event with Oyer is free and open to the public until the room reaches 100-seat capacity. For more information, email Phelps at phelpsrt@sfasu.edu.