Brad R. Humphreys | Lightnews

Brad "Pencil Necked Geek" Humphreys

@bradhumphreys.bsky.social

730 followers 1.2K following 340 posts

Economist. "He's an impediment to Civic Progress" - Patrick La Forge, Edmonton Oilers President
https://bradhumphreys.faculty.wvu.edu/home

Videos

Economics 54%

Sociology 12%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Brad R. Humphreys, Joshua Goodman, Todd Pugatch

Peter Bergman @peterbergman.bsky.social · 16h

If anyone has a job market paper they would like me to repost, tag me and I will do my best to do so! Would love to follow what people are working on more closely.

Reposted by Brad R. Humphreys

Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 1d

This MLB indictment is incredible. It alleges, among many other things, that a star Cleveland pitcher was placing bets *during a game* that a pitch he was about to throw would be a ball, and it would be under 98 mph.

www.justice.gov/usao-edny/me...

Reposted by Brad R. Humphreys

Andrew Donaldson @four4thefire.bsky.social · 1d

Welp
www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...

Guardians' Clase, Ortiz indicted for pitch rigging

Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have been indicted on a host of charges related to an alleged scheme to rig bets on pitches thrown in MLB games. Ortiz is in custody.

www.espn.com

Reposted by Brad R. Humphreys

Geoffrey Propheter @gpropheter.bsky.social · 5d

Since 1980 among passing sports referenda:
-9th smallest margin of victory (4.2%, mean = 19.5%)
-4th smallest turnout (19%, mean = 41%)
-no stat diff btwn strong and weak R precincts
-wealth diffs drove the margin. Precincts above med home value supported on avg 52% compared to those below at 47%.

Reposted by Brad R. Humphreys

John Mullahy @johnmullahy.bsky.social · 6d

Also the speed of desk rejections at some top journals.

Wonder of Science @wonderofscience.bsky.social · 23d

The speed of light visualized on a world map.

Credit: Dr James O'Donoghue

Brad "Pencil Necked Geek" Humphreys @bradhumphreys.bsky.social · 6d

At least taxpayers got to vote on it.

Reposted by Brad R. Humphreys

J.C. Bradbury @jcbradbury.com · 6d

Time to add another publicly subsidized arena to the database. I'm sure *this one will be different.*
www.expressnews.com/news/article...

Bexar County voters approve downtown San Antonio basketball arena

About 52% of Bexar County voters approved devoting up to $311 million in county tax dollars to help pay for a new $1.3 billion Spurs arena to be built at Hemisfair.

www.expressnews.com

Brad "Pencil Necked Geek" Humphreys @bradhumphreys.bsky.social · 10d

Ah yes, Halloween in Edmonton.

chris - sᴉɹɥɔ @yegwxnerdery.bsky.social · 11d

On Halloween Edmonton's average High is 5°C, and the average Low is -3.2°C.
But Halloween 1984 scared and scarred a generation of kids with a High of -17.7°C, and a Low of -23.7°C.
1991 & 2003 were also unusually cold, but nothing like that.
#yegwx #yeg
public.tableau.com/shared/2G4C7...

Brad "Pencil Necked Geek" Humphreys @bradhumphreys.bsky.social · 11d

This is the most French thing I have ever read

J.C. Bradbury @jcbradbury.com · 11d

Reposted by Brad R. Humphreys

chris - sᴉɹɥɔ @yegwxnerdery.bsky.social · 11d

Reposted by Brad R. Humphreys

Sickos Committee @sickoscommittee.org · 12d

Soon.

Brad "Pencil Necked Geek" Humphreys @bradhumphreys.bsky.social · 14d

MLB pitchers with ulnar collateral ligament tears who have Tommy John surgery and return to MLB have longer careers than matched uninjured pitchers and also perform better in terms of opposing batter batting average.
cc @keithlaw.bsky.social

Brad "Pencil Necked Geek" Humphreys @bradhumphreys.bsky.social · 14d

Now available on-line at Economics and Human Biology: "The impact of health shocks on worker performance: Evidence from Major League Baseball." Joint work with Yulia Chikish
Link to ungated version: authors.elsevier.com/a/1l-nQ,Zjej...

Reposted by Brad R. Humphreys

Septimus Brown @septimusbrown.com · 15d

😄😄

No matter how kind you are German children are kinder

Brad "Pencil Necked Geek" Humphreys @bradhumphreys.bsky.social · 17d

Brown liquor

Reposted by Brad R. Humphreys

J.C. Bradbury @jcbradbury.com · 17d

A good look at the fiscal illusion that hides taxpayer dollars flowing to "private" stadiums. Featuring @victor-matheson.bsky.social and @gpropheter.bsky.social

As stadium boom resumes, ‘private funding’ often comes with public strings

Cities eager to tout privately financed sports stadiums are still spending big through tax breaks, land deals and public financing that shift costs back to taxpayers.

www.smartcitiesdive.com

Reposted by Brad R. Humphreys

Andy "Andyfa" Schwarz @andyhre.bsky.social · 18d

I just got a copy of this paper (pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/...) which says that NIL has not had any "the rich get richer" effects, but instead has somewhat improved competitive balance.

h/t to @mattbrown.bsky.social for alerting me to this through the Extra Points newsletter

In general, the introduction of
NIL has not enriched already wealthy programs but has reshaped the recruiting landscape in a way that promotes a more equitable distribution of talent. Even by using multiple definitions of “rich”—from historical school performance to football budgets—we find negative or null effects of NIL on the positive assortative matching between recruits and schools. This democratization of talent acquisition challenges the notion that “the rich get richer” and opens up possibilities for increased competitiveness across college football.

Brad "Pencil Necked Geek" Humphreys @bradhumphreys.bsky.social · 18d

College basketball teams can now sign former G League players and people who played professionally in Europe. The NCAA appears to just be making things up as they go along in this new professionalized environment.

sports.yahoo.com/mens-college...

Why G League players are being allowed to play college basketball

When did the NCAA begin allowing coaches to scour the G League for recruits? The trend is a byproduct of the NCAA's loosening of amateurism rules due to the House settlement and NIL deals.

sports.yahoo.com

Reposted by Brad R. Humphreys

Victor Matheson @victor-matheson.bsky.social · 18d

All I know is that it is a lot cheaper to hear me talk about ticket prices on NPR's Morning Edition today than it is to buy tickets to any sporting events nowadays.

www.npr.org/2025/10/23/n...

Sports ticket prices are getting more expensive — and pricing out many fans

For sports fans, there's nothing as exciting as going to see your team play. But what was once an affordable form of entertainment is becoming increasingly more expensive and pricing some loyal fans o...

www.npr.org

Reposted by Brad R. Humphreys

Field of Schemes @fieldofschemes.bsky.social · 19d

Worcester should serve as a warning to cities hoping to repay sports project costs with tax revenue from new development (*cough San Antonio*) that there's no guarantee the new housing will get built, plus taxes on new residents aren't a free windfall.

Worcester stadium red ink shows dangers of hoping to cover taxpayer costs with housing magic beans

It's now been more than seven years since the Pawtucket Red Sox owners cut a deal to get $105 million in public cash to move to a new stadium in Worcester, sparking a throwdown between economists Andr...

www.fieldofschemes.com

Reposted by Brad R. Humphreys

J.C. Bradbury @jcbradbury.com · 19d

This is getting pathetic. The @ExpressNews editorial board continues to trot out empty pretext justifications for the Spurs arena plan that it has gone dewy-eyed over. When your arguments are this bad, it's time to take a hard look in the mirror.
www.expressnews.com/opinion/edit...

Rejecting Spurs arena downtown comes with costs, risks, civic pain

As voters weigh Bexar County Propositions A and B, they should also consider the potential costs of rejecting the Spurs arena.

www.expressnews.com

Reposted by Brad R. Humphreys

Pat Forde @bypatforde.bsky.social · 19d

News: the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York will have a 10 am press conference regarding its investigation of point shaving and performance manipulation in pro basketball. This is separate from the college investigation that is in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Reposted by Brad R. Humphreys

Nicole Auerbach @nauerbach.com · 19d

Now official: College athletes and school staff can bet on pro sports, beginning on Nov. 1.

All three Divisions have voted to approve the change, per the NCAA.

Reposted by Brad R. Humphreys

J.C. Bradbury @jcbradbury.com · 21d

Whoever wrote this editorial for the @ExpressNews should be embarrassed. If you think 50 years of research demonstrating that publicly funded venues are bad policy doesn't make a "clear and convincing case" then you're not interested in evidence.
www.expressnews.com/opinion/edit...